


Fallen Star 2 Max Returns

by Sylvia_Fey



Series: Fallen Star [2]
Category: Sengoku Basara
Genre: Anger, Being Lost, Betrayal, Breaking and Entering, Captured, Confusion, Explosions, F/M, Fanfiction, Fighting, Hate, Modern Era, Other, Police, Samurai, Time Travel, War, ex-boyfriend, jailed, sengoku basara - Freeform, separated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-16
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-03-05 12:27:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 28,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13387797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvia_Fey/pseuds/Sylvia_Fey
Summary: Max returns to the Sengoku Era, but this time, she brought a few friends. When Kori and Kasai get snatched by the police after Max returns, she has no choice but to get them back. But her Ex has other ideas, leaving her and her friends with no choice but to return to the Sengoku Period to escape the long hand of the law.





	1. Awake

**Author's Note:**

> I know y'all have been waiting for it for a while, I got distracted by the hot Fanalis of Magi, but HERE IT IS! Story number 2! It's a little shorter than the last one and it may be a little confusing in certain spots, but, hopefully, you enjoy it! Thanks for reading!

 

The sound of voices brought her swimming back to the surface. Pain radiated through out her body making her give a low groan. Something didn't feel right. Her throat... She couldn't breathe past something in her throat. She started to choke and cough, trying to inhale through the thing down her throat. 

"NURSE!" a voice cried out as someone grabbed her arms to hold her down, "NURSE!"  
  
She coughed, trying to fight back against the person holding her. _Get off me!_ she screamed in her head, since she couldn't scream it out loud. She pushed with all her might upward, making whoever it was cry out.   
  
"NURSE!" the voice hollered, trying to shove her back down.  
  
She choked and coughed against the tube...it's a tube. She blinked, her eyes starting to focus on the ceiling above her. _A...hospital?_ she thought, ceasing her fighting as she turned her head slightly to look at the people holding her down. She blinked at Mark, as he gave her smiling green eyes from dark caramel skin and slowly let her go. Jesse leaned over her, tilting her head as she gave Max a glare.  
  
"Damn it! I told you not to go out on your fucking own!" Jesse growled, the eyelashes around her brown eyes spotted with tear droplets, "how many classes did you take before we came here? Fucking zero! That's how many!"  
  
Max tried to swallow, the tube down her throat making it difficult. A nurse entered a few seconds later, giving Max a gentle, relieved smile as she told Max that she was going to remove the tube. It scratched the whole way out, making Max attempt to clear her throat when it was removed.  
  
"Now, please," she nurse said, her english choppy, "watah, only."  
  
Max gave the nurse a nod and thanked her is fluent Japanese, getting a surpised blink from everyone in the room. She slowly sat up, only to get scoulded by her friends. Even Mark as he helped her. Max blinked at the earrings at the top of his left ear, wondering if they were always that shiny before she leaned back against the pillow. She winced at the bullet wound in her shoulder and glanced toward the door as Chelsea entered. Chelsea's violet eyes were made more purple with the puffy redness surrounding them. She gave a gasp before rushing to the side of Max's bed, leaning over to give Max a hug before remembering Max's injuries.   
  
"What happened to you?" Chelsea asked, her voice thick with unshed tears, "we were so worried when you didn't show up after a day that we went looking for you."  
  
"Luckily, you're predictable," Mark said, giving her a grin.  
  
Max smiled and swallowed before shaking her head, "you guys are NOT going to believe this," she said before starting to tell her story about traveling through time, meeting the War lords of the sengoku period and defeating an evil warlord... well, all but the juices bits with Chosokabe. When she was finished, they all looked at her with a mixture of awe and disbelief.  
  
"You're right," Jesse started, folding her muscular arms over her chest, "we don't believe you."  
  
Max frowned and gave her a glare, "why the hell would I lie about something like that?"  
  
"Weeeeeelllllll," Mark whined, rubbing the back of his head.  
  
"Max, you've been in a coma for three days," Chelsea said, giving her an apologetic half smile.  
  
Max's eyes widened, "what?" she whispered, clearing her throat and she shook her head, "how?"  
  
"We found you by a fucking busted up monk statue with bullet wounds and cuts and bruises everywhere," Jesse said, motioning to Max's body.  
  
"Who did that to you?" Mark asked, his green eyes flashing anger.  
  
"Yeah," Jesse agreed, slapping her fist into her hand, "because when I find them, I'm gunna fuck them UP!"  
  
Max shook her head, "Oda Nobunaga and his crew did this," she growled, giving the two a glare, "I already told you that."  
  
Jesse rolled her eyes as Mark sighed and shook his head. "You can't be fucking serious, right now," she growled, glaring at Max with angry brown eyes.  
  
Max glared back, sitting up straighter in her bed, ignoring the bolts of pain racing through her body, "I'll fucking prove it!" she snarled, making Jesse blink in surprise. Max hardly ever spoke so...intimidateingly toward others, but her time in the sengoku period had hardened her, "where are Kori and Kasai?"  
  
They blinked at her as Chelsea poured her a glass of water and handed it to her, "who?"  
  
Max took the glass and emptied it, forgetting how good water in the modern world tasted, "Kori and Kasai. My swords," Max said, getting a sheepish look from Mark and Chelsea as Jesse glared at the bed sheet.  
  
"Yeah," Mark started, clearing his throat, "about that..."  
  
Max blinked at him before giving him a glare, "where are my swords, Mark," she growled, her voice low and angry. _I just got Kori and Kasai back!_  
  
"I let the police take them for evidence," a male voice said from the doorway, bringing Max's attention to the man standing there, watching her with narrowed bright blue eyes.  
She felt her heart stop in her chest and her mouth dry before rage started to take her over. She shot Mark a glare, knowing it was him that invited the other man, "what the fuck is HE doing here?!" she snarled, pointing at the man as he walked toward them. Her eyes narrowed at the woman that followed him.  
  
She gave Max a smile as she held a teddybear in front of her, "we're so glad you're alright, Maxine," the woman said, holding the teddybear out toward Max, "we got you this for a, get well soon, gift."  
  
Max glared all her hate at the woman before snatching the bear from her. She looked the bear over before glancing at the window, "I'm feeling a little hot, Jesse. Could you open the window a little bit?" she asked, her voice sounding innocent while the rest of her seethed with rage.  
  
Jesse gave a nod, opening the window halfway before Max casually tossed the teddybear out the window, glaring at the two new comers the entire time. The woman looked affronted, putting her hand to her mouth like she couldn't believe that Max had done that before giving her a glare.  
  
"That was rude, Max," the man said, stepping up to stand next to the woman.  
  
Max turned her glare to him before folding her arms over her chest, "I don't want to catch whatever diseases you and Emma are passing back and forth, James," she snarled, feeling her eye twitch for a moment, "and what the fuck gave you the right to let the police take my swords into custody? You aren't my emergency contact and you have no authority over any of my shit."  
  
He glared at her before brushing a few strands of his blonde hair out of his eyes, "they assumed that the swords were used to hurt you and who was I to question it?"  
  
Max sat in shock before shaking her head, "fucking asshole!" she snarled, throwing the blankets back as she turned her body to let her legs dangle over the side of the bed.  
"Max! What are you doing?" Mark yelped, taking hold of her wrist.  
  
"I'm going to get my swords back," she growled, jerking her arm away from Mark, "because you let this asshole come along on my 'forget him' trip."  
  
Mark winced from her words but she ignored it. _If he had the balls to call James and Emma about me, he can fucking deal with his own hurt,_ she growled in her head.  
  
"But, Max," Chelsea said, rushing around the bed to put her hand on Max's shoulder, "you're still hurt. You shouldn't be up and moving around."  
  
Max clicked her tongue, smacking Chelsea's hand away before getting to her feet, "I'm fine!" she growled as she took a step toward the door. Her legs gave out, having been out of use for a few days and still injured. James took hold of her as she feel against the bed, making her growl and smack his hand away, "I don't need any fucking help from YOU."  
  
"Max, please," Chelsea pleaded, gently placing her hand on Max's arm again, "go back to bed."  
  
Max shook her head, making sure she was steady on her feet before testing out a couple of steps, "Kori and Kasai saved my life and kept me alive in the Sengoku period. I'm not going to abandon them to sit in some stuffy evidence room."  
  
James gave a sharp laugh, "you're talking about those swords like they're people," he said, leaning toward her slightly with his fists on his hips.  
  
Max shot him a glare before poking him in the chest, "they're more like people than you are, fucking cheater!" she snarled, before stumbling toward the door.  
  
She could feel her balance start to give out before she started to fall. She reached out, taking hold of someone's hand as they wrapped their arms around her to keep her upright.   
  
"Seriously? Even in your own time, you can't stay on your feet?" a familiar voice asked from above her with a laugh.  
  
She blinked, looking up at the man with wide eyes. She gasped before throwing her arms around him, hugging him tightly, "Sasuke!" she exclaimed, getting a laugh from the ninja before she blinked, realizing what was going on. She pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders as he looked down at her with a grin through the green face paint, "wait. You came through the time warp too?"  
  
His smile wilted slightly as he gave a nod, "I guess I was too close. All I remember was being sucked in after you and then waking up in front of a broken monk statue," he said, rubbing the back of his head with one hand while the other stayed on her ribs.  
  
Max furrowed her brow down at his camoflaged chest, "did anyone else come through, or was it just you?" she asked, looking back up at him as he shook his head.  
  
"From what I could tell, it was just you and me," he said, glancing back at the group standing behind her. His brown eyes scanned over them, searching for weapons, "this...time...it's very strange."  
  
Max gave a laugh and she turned to look back at her friends, "tell me about it," she said, waving toward everyone, "Sasuke, these are my friends. That's Mark, Chelsea and Jesse," her smile disappeared as she glared at the last two, "and those two are James and Emma."  
  
Sasuke gave a nod, folding his arms over his chest as he eyed James, "so, that's your ex betrothed, huh?" he asked, moving around her to walk around James, inspecting him like a man would a steer at an auction. Sasuke gave him a smirk before looking at Max and pointing at James, "you seriously couldn't find someone better in this time? No wonder you traveled back in time."  
  
"Hey!" James protested, turning to face Sasuke head on, "what the fuck are you trying to say?"  
  
Sasuke smirked, "well," he started before Max cleared her throat, bringing his attention to her.  
  
"Hey, Sasuke, could you do me a favor?" she asked, giving him a smile.  
  
He tilted his head, watching her with narrow eyes before glancing at James, "does it involve me showing him the rooftop?" he asked, feeling fury toward the man that hurt Max.  
  
Max shrugged, "maybe later," she said, before shaking her head, "no, I need you to break into the evidence locker at the police station and get Kori and Kasai back for me."  
  
He blinked at her for a second before laughing, "is that all? I was wondering if you wanted me to assassinate a king or something, with the way you were talking," he said, still chuckling as he hopped onto the window sill.  
  
"Wait!" Jesse hollered, reaching out and taking Sasuke by the back of his over coat, "what the fuck do you think you're doing?"  
  
Sasuke blinked at her, like he couldn't believe she was asking him that question, "going out the window. What else would I be doing up here?"  
  
"But, you could get hurt," Chelsea said, watching him with wide eyes.  
  
He blinked at her as well before glancing at Max, "isn't this how most people leave a room?" he asked, a joking glint in his eyes.  
  
Max rolled her eyes, "just let him jump, or push him," she said, folding her arms over her chest, "it'll save you guys a few heartattacks in the future. Trust me."  
  
Sasuke clicked his tongue, "I didn't scare you that often, did I?"  
  
Max shot him a glare, only to get a chuckle in return.  
  
Jesse gave Max a glare before tugging on Sasuke's coat, "seriously, fucking weirdo. Do you want to die?" she asked, glaring at him.  
  
He gave her a small smile before sighing and hopping down from the window sill, "fine...Jesse, was it?" he asked, getting a nod from the woman, "I'll go out the front like a good normal person."  
  
Max gave a laugh, "normal? You!?" she said, making him frown at her.  
  
"I can be normal if I want," he said as Jesse released his coat and he folded his arms over his chest.  
  
"Sure," Jesse said, looking him up and down with suspicious eyes, "so, what the fuck are you, anyway?"  
  
"A ninja," Max and Sasuke said at the same time, making them both chuckle.  
  
Mark blinked at them before grinning, "seriously?" he asked, getting a nod from the both of them, "your name is Sasuke and you're a ninja? Like, for real?"  
  
Max sighed, knowing where this was going because she had the same thoughts about it too, "yes, Mark. He's a real ninja named Sasuke."  
  
Sasuke gave her a raised eyebrow, "I don't get what's so special about that."  
  
Jesse growled, pulling her phone out and messing with it before turning the screen around for him to see Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto. "This is a fictional character in an anime called Naruto," she explained, giving him a glare as he poked her phone.  
  
"Fascinating," he breathed, tilting his head around to look at the back of the phone.  
  
"What the fuck are you doing?" Jesse asked, pulling the phone more toward herself.  
  
"What is it and how does it work?" he asked, giving her a curious smile.  
  
Jesse blinked, her heart hammering in her chest at the curiosity in his brown eyes before clearing her throat, "well...It just does," she growled, turning it off and slipping it back into her pocket.  
  
Sasuke blinked at her before glancing back at Max, who was watching with amused eyes, "did I do something wrong?" he asked, not understanding why Jesse was so angry with him.  
  
"Nah, that's just the way she is," Mark explained, walking around the bed to slap Sasuke on the back, "you'll get use to it."  
  
"So," Max said, clearing her throat as she started to walk out of the room, "about my swords. I'll help distract the police officers in charge of the evidence locker while you sneak in and get them."  
  
Sasuke followed, sticking close to her side in case she started to fall, "why don't you just go get them back?"  
  
"Because, I would assume that they want me to have some sort of permit for the swords and I don't have one of those," she said, giving a sigh. Being back in the modern world made her realize how many restrictions were placed on simple things.   
  
"So," Mark said, catching up to them as they walked, "you're plan is to sneak into a police station full of cops, distract the ones working the evidence desk and steal your swords back. Am I hearing that right?"  
  
Max nodded, taking the bag Chelsea offered as they walked, "not as easy as slaying a demon king, but hey, whatever I can get, right?"  
  
Sasuke laughed as the others gave her raised eyebrows.  
  
"It might take a while to check out of the hospital, so," Max glanced back at Jesse, getting a glare from the other woman as she did, "Jesse, you and Sasuke should go ahead and scope the place out."  
  
Jesse's brown eyes widened before she shook her head, violently, "I'm not doing a fucking thing!"  
  
Sasuke moved back, putting his arm over her shoulder, "you can count on us, Max," he said, giving Jesse's shoulders a small squeeze.  
  
"I said," Jesse snarled, grabbing Sasuke's hand and pushing the wrist into the arm, making him growl at the pain, "I'm not fucking doing it."


	2. Fugitives

 

Jesse leaned against the wall of the police station, glancing out of the ally at random intervals to make sure no one was coming. _How the fuck did I get dragged into this bull shit_ , she thought as she leaned out from the ally again, glancing over the front doors.  
  
"I found a way in," Sasuke's voice said near her ear, making her yelp and turn, bringing her fist up to connect with his cheek.  
  
He fell to the ground, coughing at the surprise of it as he raised the back of his hand to the corner of his mouth. He glanced down at it, tasting blood as he took note not to try that again with Jesse. She stood over him with angry brown eyes, cracking her knuckles as he stood.  
  
"You going to do that again, or am I going to have to kick your ass right here and now?" she asked, glaring at him.  
  
He gave her a smile before licking the blood from the corner of his mouth, "I'll try not to do it again."  
  
She gave a nod before glancing up the side of the building, "you said you found a way in?" she asked, getting a nod from the ninja, "great. Now all we have to do is wait for the signal from Mark."  
  
Sasuke leaned against the wall before crouching down and closing his eyes, "this time period is really tiring," he said, glancing at Jesse, "how do you deal with it?"  
  
Jesse frowned at him, "you really think you're from a different time period, huh?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him and she folded her arms over her chest.  
  
He blinked at her before sighing and getting to his feet, "you won't believe Max or I until we show you the swords," he said, moving past her to lean around the building, "or the Yokai inside them, anyway."  
  
Jesse snorted, "like I really fucking believe that shit," she growled, her phone vibrating in her pants pocket. She blinked, pulling it from the pocket before giving the device a nod, "That's the signal," she said, nodding up toward the top of the building, "it's go time."

* * *

Max leaned back against the counter, her elbows up on the edge as she watched Mark put his phone away. He gave her a small nod as Chelsea flirted with the two men guarding the evidence desk. She gave a girly giggle that would make any sane person vomit as the two officers grinned at her like idiots.   
  
"So, what exactly do you boys keep in there?" she asked, her voice high and innocent.  
  
They glanced at one another before laughing, "just stuff that could put people away for a long time," one of the officers said, getting a nudge from the other one.   
"Yokagi," the one said, "we aren't supposed to talk about it."  
  
Yokagi blinked at the other man, "why not? It's not like she's going to steal anything, right honey?"  
  
Chelsea gave him a blink, keeping her smile in place as her eyes darted to Max. Max gave her a slow head shake before she went back to flirting.  
  
"Actually, officer, that's exactly what she's trying to do," a male voice said from a few feet away from Max.  
  
 _Fuck my life_ , she thought, turning a glare to James as he strolled right up to the two men.  
  
"What the hell is he doing?" Mark whispered, narrowing his eyes at James's back.  
  
"He's your friend, Mark," Max hissed, "I didn't invite him."  
  
Mark looked embarrassed as he watched the two officers glare at Chelsea, "she needs an out," he whispered before putting on his best grin and walking toward them.   
  
_Damn it, James! Fuck me over again, why don't you?!_ She snarled in her head as she pulled her phone from her pocket and quickly called Jesse.  
  
"Max, Sasuke went in a couple..." Max cut her off.  
  
"Abort! James threw a stink bomb into the whole operation," she growled, glaring at James as she started for the door, "I'm going to kill that mother fucker if it's the last fucking thing I do!"

* * *

Jesse felt panic well up in her chest as she looked up the side of the building to where the air duct was that Sasuke went in, "SASUKE!" she called, hoping he could hear her, "SASUKE! ABORT!"

* * *

Sasuke heard Jesse hollering something, but he was too far away to hear her. _She's probably complaining about me sneaking up on her, or something_ , he thought as he slid through the vent on his stomach. He could swear he could hear hollering before a loud explosion shook the vent. He covered his head as the panel under him gave way, dropping him into a cage...or, what was left of it.

* * *

Max stood inside the doorway, her eyes wide as she watched two figures emerge from the dust. She felt relief, panic, fear and joy at seeing Kasai and Kori. Kori stood over one of the officers, putting his foot on the man's back before stepping over him while Kasai looked around the area, his golden eyes scanning everything until they fell on her. His eyes widened for a moment before he looked at Kori, who was lifting a cop from the rubble and snarling at him.  
  
"Kori!" Kasai growled, his deep voice music to her ears.  
  
Kori glanced at Kasai before following the other yokai's nod toward her. His ice blue eyes widened before he dropped the man to the floor, looking scared and sad before rushing to her. She grunted as the two hugged her, lifting her off the ground as they laughed and talking.   
  
"Max," Kori said as he moved back, regaining his composure, "where are we? What happened?"  
  
Max couldn't keep the smile from her face, "this is my time period," she said, waving her arms around before the sounds of sirens brought her attention back to reality, "we have to get out of here before the rest of the cops show up," she said, going to Mark and Chelsea and helping them to their feet.  
  
Mark's eyes widened at seeing Kasai and Kori while Chelsea gasped and tried to hide behind Max.   
  
Sasuke walked out of what was left of the evidence locker, rubbing the back of his head, "if you guys could have gotten out anytime, why did I just crawl through a tight space?"  
  
Kasai laughed, slapping Sasuke on the back, sending the smaller man jolting forward, "we couldn't really until we heard Max earlier asking about us."  
  
Kori nodded, glancing at the doors as flashing lights appeared, "strange lightening you have here," he said aloud, making Max curse.  
  
"We've gotta go," she said, looking at Sasuke, "can we get out the way you got in?"  
  
Sasuke nodded, "probably, but I don't think Kasai will fit."  
  
Kasai nodded, "I'll return to my blade until such a time as you need me, Spark," he said, giving Max a smile before turning into a flame that shot into the evidence locker.  
  
Kori nodded, "I will do the same once you're in the crawling space," he said, walking into the evidence locker after Sasuke. He went to a shelf and lifted the two swords from it, holding them out to Max as his tail flicked behind him, "please stop losing us. It's getting really annoying having to free ourselves."  
  
Max clicked her tongue, snatching the swords from the yokai before strapping them to her back, "stop getting lost and it wouldn't be a problem."  
  
He smirked at her before nodding at Sasuke as he jumped up into the air duct, "I'll help you up, Fallen Star," he said, getting a snort from her.  
  
Mark was having a hard time lifting Chelsea, who was shaking from fear of falling as she timidly reached for Sasuke's hand. Kori sighed and shook his head, easily lifting Chelsea from Mark's grip and holding her in the air. She screeched, making him wince.  
  
"Chelsea, just grab Sasuke's hand or we're all going to jail!" Max growled up at the girl.  
  
Chelsea glanced down at Kori, who was giving her an annoyed glare with his ears laid back on the top of his head, "if you don't take his hand, I'll throw you up there," he growled, his tail flicking to the side.  
  
Chelsea gave a nervous nod before grabbing onto Sasuke's hand and letting him lift her into the duct. Max sighed and shook her head, "I hope I wasn't like that in your time," she said aloud as Kori stepped up behind Mark and lifted him into the air.  
  
"Woah!" Mark hollered before giving the yokai a nervous smile, "thanks man...uh...fox..."  
  
Kori narrowed his ice blue eyes at Mark before tossing him up into the duct, causing him to land on Sasuke with an _Oof!_ Max gave Kori a slap on the arm, "now, what the hell was that for?" she asked, getting an eye roll from the kitsune before he held his hands out to her.  
  
"Your turn, Max," he said, his eyes moving to the doors as they burst open. He didn't even wait for her to respond before grabbing her and jumping up into the air duct as bullets reined down on where they had been.   
  
Max yelped, gripping his kimono as he wrapped his arm, protectively around her, holding her close as the guns fired. She closed her eyes, praying that the bullets would stop flying before Kori nuzzled her with his chin, bringing her eyes open and up to him. He gave a nod toward where Sasuke was leaning around a corner, waving at them to head that way. Max nodded, turning to crawl after the ninja as Kori turned into cold flame, melding with the sword as Max moved. 

* * *

They all got out and started moving down the ally away from the street. Chelsea huffed and puffed slightly behind everyone, stopping finally after running for eight blocks straight, "I can't run anymore," she sighed, leaning on her knees as she tried to regain her breath.  
  
Jesse nodded, leaning back against the side of a building as Mark flopped to the ground, laying flat on the pavement. Max huffed and puffed as well, feeling the sweat drip down her back before Sasuke clicked his tongue at them.  
  
"You guys need to run more," he said, folding his arms over his chest as he looked back toward the police station, "well, that went well."  
  
Max frowned as she turned and went straight for Mark, giving him a swift kick to the ribs, "mother fucker!" she snarled as Jesse moved up and grabbed her, pulling her away from Mark's curled up body.  
  
"What the fuck," he growled, rolling to his knees before getting to his feet, holding his ribs while he did.  
  
"If it wasn't for you inviting James, we wouldn't have become fucking criminals!" she snarled, pointing at him accusingly as he glared at her.  
  
"Okay, I was just going to let you keep thinking I invited the son of a bitch, but really, Max. I didn't!" he growled, making her blink at him.  
  
"I did," Chelsea said, looking down at the ground, asshamed.  
  
Max blinked at her, her face a mask of shock and betrayal, "you know what he did and you still invited him to come here and see me?" she asked, her shock turning to anger.  
  
Chelsea gave Max an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, Max, but James said he was never happier with anyone else and he wanted to make up with you," she said, getting a grin from the ninja.  
  
"Well, he'll have to fight Chosokabe for her," he said, getting a glare from Max.  
  
"What's he talking about?" Jesse asked, giving Max a stern look.  
  
Max sighed and rubbed the back of her head, "it wasn't an offical thing but...I, sort of..."  
  
Sasuke rolled his eyes, "she had a tryst thrice with the Ogre of the Western Sea," he said, holding up three fingers as Max glared at him.  
  
"Like, sex? With an Ogre?" Mark asked, his face wrinkling at the thought, "ew. Max."  
  
Max clicked her tongue and waved her hand out at him, "not a real Ogre, you fucktard," she growled, folding her arms over her chest, "Chosokabe Motochika, AKA the Ogre of the Western Sea, pirate king and ruler of the isle of Shikoku."  
  
"Wow," Mark said, sounding impressed, "that's a title."  
  
"I hate to be the barer of bad news," Jesse said, glancing over her shoulder as a cop drove past the ally they were in, "but we should probably head back home before finding out how to get back to America without taking a plane."  
  
Sasuke nodded, "lead the way. If we're about to get caught, I'll lead them away and find you guys later," he said, walking at the back of the group as they followed Jesse through the back roads and allies.


	3. Trip Through Time and Separated

 

Max leaned against the arm of the couch after packing a decent sized bag of things she would desperately need in the Sengoku Period. It wasn't the most brilliant plan, but they needed to get out of this place and taking a plane right now wasn't the best option. They had argued for hours until Sasuke pointed out that they weren't criminals in his time period. Max, honestly, wanted nothing more than to return and see how defeating Nobunaga turned out for the country. Not to mention seeing Chosokabe again. She looked down at her bag sadly, wishing that he was there with her to keep her grounded and her mind straight. Her memories of them spending time together almost made her want to cry, but she quickly shook the thought from her head. _He's fine and you'll get to see him again_ , she told herself. She glanced toward Chelsea and sighed as she watched Chelsea slip her phone into her pocket, giving the woman a glare before shaking her head, "if you've invited that mother fucker along for the ride, I'm going to kill both of you," she growled as Chelsea averted her gaze. _Yep, she invited him_ , she thought, feeling the anger bubble in her stomach.

 ** _Wow, you really hate that man_** , Kasai's voice was a welcomed warmth in her head, making her smile.

"Well, you know," she said, looking into her bag again and mentally checking off all the things she would need.  
  
"So, how do we know that going back there will actually work, assuming that you didn't just dream everything up," Mark asked, dropping two bags down beside her's.  
"We don't," Sasuke said as he stepped away from the window, "but it's our only option, at the moment."  
  
Max sympathized with Sasuke, knowing how it felt to be in a time that wasn't your own, "I just hope we get there before James rats us out to the cops," she said, folding her arms over her chest as she gave Chelsea a glare, "I still can't believe you."  
  
Chelsea avoided her eyes, looking busy as she restuffed her bag.  
  
"Come on, sis!" Mark hollered down the hallway, getting a holler back a few seconds later.  
  
"I'm Hurrying," Jesse growled, walking from the hallway with two bags on her back, "I'm ready."  
  
Max gave a nod as she glanced at Sasuke, "Mark, lemme see your phone," she said, slapping him in the stomach.  
  
He sighed and handed it to her before she held it out the Sasuke. Sasuke blinked at it, taking it gently in his hand before looking at Max.  
  
"It's so you can tell us which areas are clear or not," she said, giving him a quick run down of how to text before he nodded and slipped it into the pouch on his hip.  
  
"I'll...text you," he said, thinking how strange the lingo was in this time before jumping out the window, making Jesse and Chelsea gasp.  
  
Max smiled and looked at them before slinging her bag over her back, "it's a ninja thing," she said, leading them out the door with their bags.

* * *

They made it to the clearing, catching up to Sasuke as he looked over the monk statue, moving some of the vines and tearing down a few as he did.  
  
"So, how did you get through to the Sengoku period?" Jesse asked.  
  
The lack of cussing made Max look at her. Jesse looked scared and she rarely showed anything but that tough, give-no-fucks attitude. "I was taking pictures of the statue and there was a light," Max said, her voice empty as she started to search the cracks and crevasses of the statue. She sighed and shook her head, after searching for a few minutes, "I don't get it. It was right..." she stopped talking as she glanced back, glaring past Mark and Chelsea to the two people that were walking toward them from across the field. She gave Chelsea a glare before heading for them, "what the fuck do you want?" she growled, folding her arms over her chest.  
  
James and Emma stopped a few feet from her, Jame's blue eyes glaring holes in her through the dirt and grime from the explosion. "Chelsea said that we'd find you here," he said, sliding his phone back into his back pocket.  
  
"Max, you guys should turn yourselves in," Emma said, glancing at Sasuke as he sat atop the monk's head, like the cheshire cat, "they'll go easy on you if you do."  
  
Jesse shook her head, shooting James a glare, "they wouldn't have been the wiser if this fucker hadn't of tried to nark," Jesse growled, stepping up to stand beside Max with her arms folding, looking like a bouncer at a bar.  
  
Max nodded in agreement, "what the fuck do you have against me having what's mine?" she said, feeling the swords vibrate on her back.  
  
"They aren't yours," James said, pointing at the swords over her shoulders, "those swords were lost to time and belong in a museum."  
  
Max blinked at him before her and Jesse shared a glance.  
  
"What are you talking about, Jay," Mark asked, stepping up to stand on the other side of Max.  
  
"Those swords belonged to a warrior called The Fallen Star and helped with the destruction of the Demon Lord Oda Nobunaga during the sengoku period. They've been lost since he was killed," he said, folding his arms over his chest with a smug smirk on his face. Max had forgotten that James was a historian of most cultures, "I don't know who you stole them from, Max, but they don't belong to you at all." Sasuke started laughing as Max grinned at James, bringing the man's attention to the ninja on the monk head, "what's so funny?"  
  
Sasuke gracefully hopped down from the head and walked toward James, "you're talking to the Fallen Star," he said, motioning to Max, "Maxine Star, also known as The Fallen Star, killer of Oda Nobunaga."  
  
Max gave a dramatic bow as Sasuke clapped like someone of high society. She couldn't help but grin at James's confused stare.  
  
"So, you mean to tell us that the story you told us was...real?" Chelsea asked, putting her hand to her chest.  
  
"No fucking way," Jesse breathed, staring at Max with wide eyes, "Serious?"  
  
Max nodded, "I told you I didn't lie about it."  
  
James scoffed, "you couldn't even give a good blowjob, how the fuck did you kill a war lord that the other war lords couldn't?"  
  
Max shrugged, glancing back at the swords as the hilts started to glow, "I had some help from my friends," she said with a smirk.  
  
Almost as if the words summoned them, Kasai and Kori flew out of their swords, appearing in their yokai forms just behind Max, making everyone, except Sasuke, move back a touch. Kori folded his arms over his chest, his ice blue eyes wandering over James with distaste before he clicked his tongue and turned to face away, his tail flicking. Kasai was grinning at James like he was going to eat him, and for all Max knew, he was.  
  
"James," she said, bringing the startled man's attention to her, "I'd like you to meet Kasai and Kori. The Yokai of the swords."  
  
James stood with his mouth agape, not believeing what he was seeing before looking from the yokai to Max, "you're really..."  
  
"Max," Kasai's voice startled everyone but Max and Sasuke, making his grin widen, "I hate to say, let's move along, but..."  
  
"The portal has opened," Kori sighed, nodding toward a twinkling light under the vines.  
  
Max gave a nod, adjusting her bag as she turned and headed for the light, "come on, guys," she said, leading them to the light, "now, I don't know what's going to happen with all of us going, but we should probably hold hands to make sure we end up in the same time period, at least."  
  
They all nodded in agreement before Sasuke took Max's hand, seeing an opportunity. He gave Max's eyebrow raise a smile before taking Jesse's hand in his. She gave him a glare before he lifted her hand to his mouth, planting a kiss on the back of her hand. She blinked with wide eyes before turning away, pink dusting her cheeks as she cursed under her breath. Chelsea took Jesse's hand and Mark took Chelsea's leaving James and Emma blinking at them. Max gave a nod as Kasai and Kori flew back into the swords, not wanting to hold them up any longer. "Here we go!" Max said, reaching into the portal and instantly being sucked in. James frowned as Max reached in, grabbing Emma's hand before rushing to grab onto Mark, who glared at him before being jerked violently from the ground.

* * *

They fell through the colors, everyone, including Max and Sasuke, hollering at the chilly wind that blew past them. "Everyone hang on! Don't let go!" Max called out, hoping that they could hear her as they fell. She gritted her teeth, squeezing Sasuke's hand as it started to slip. _Damn it!_ she cursed internally, praying that they would come out of the time warp soon. No sooner had she thought that then the world appeared below. Max winced, remembering how she bounced the first time and how she was still wounded.  
  
James held tight to Mark's hand, fighting off the kicks Mark was dealing to him. He released Emma, letting her fall alone while he tried to get a grip on Mark's shirt. Mark growled, glancing at Chelsea before letting her go.  
  
"MARK!" Chelsea screamed, trying to regrab him before he fell away, wrestling with James mid-air.  
  
Sasuke glanced over the ground, taking note of the battle that seemed to be going on between two fighters before it stopped.  
  
"FUCK!" Jesse screamed, mentally, and physically preparing herself for the impact.  
  
_Max's been through this before, right? We'll live through this, right?_ Chelsea thought as she closed her eyes. Her hand started to slip for Jesse's, bringing both women's eyes to their joined hands.  
  
"Chelsea! Don't Let Go!" Jesse hollered over the wind racing past their ears.  
  
"I can't..." Chelsea's words were cut short by her hand slipping. She screamed as she fell toward the ground.  
  
"CHELSEA!!" Jesse cried, starting to let go of Sasuke's hand to go after them.  
  
Sasuke's grip tightened, bringing her attention to him, "I'll find them when we land," he hollered, getting a panicked expression from the woman before she nodded.  
  
"Kori!" Max hollered, getting a vibration from the Kitsune before he appeared beside her, "get Chelsea! Protect her!"  
  
He gave an exasperated sigh before nodding and disappearing toward them in a cloud of snowflakes and mist.


	4. Reunited Girls

 

Chelsea screamed as she fell, feeling sick and scared of everything. She tried to curl up in a ball but the air rushing past her hurt her ears. She felt something warm grab onto her, wrapping it's arms around her and pulling her against something warm and solid. She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at Kori as he glanced over her face before turning his attention to the rapidly approaching ground. He frowned, turning in the air so he was holding her bridal style before gently landing. She blinked at him, still feeling like she was falling before he cleared his throat, making her blink.  
  
"You're safe now," he said, his smooth, cool voice calming her slightly.   
  
She gave a nod as he roughly let her down, making her stumble slightly. She swallowed, looking up at the kitsune before looking back down at the ground, "thank you, Kori," she said, her voice soft and shy as she glanced around the area, "where are we?"   
  
He shrugged, looking disinterested as he turned to leave, "I don't know," he said, moving away from her, "but you're safe and now I have to find my Mistress."  
  
Chelsea blinked and started to follow, "hey, wait!" she called as he turned into a blue flame and disappeared into the trees. She glanced around the area, the darkness making the trees look more eerie than if she was in the woods during the day. She sighed, wondering if she should head in the same direction that Kori had gone before the brush wrustling a little ways from her brought her attention to three men as they stepped out of the bushes. She blinked, her eyes going wide as the men looked at her before glancing at one another.  
  
"Are you the one that fell from the sky?" one of the men asked.  
  
She swallowed and gave a small nod as the men gave her a grin.  
  
"Big Boss wants to see you, Woman," one of the men said, moving forward to take hold of her arms.  
  
She shook her head, her flight reflex kicking in as she tried to struggle against the man's strong grip and screamed.

* * *

Max's eyes widened at the ground before bracing for the impact.

* * *

Sasuke released the two women before the world hit, spinning in the air as he grabbed a couple of branches on the way down, slowing himself enough to land gracefully on one of the limbs.

* * *

Jesse put her arms over her head, turning mid air so that her back hit the branches first, cracking the first few before the harder ones smacked her back, making her cry out in pain as she landed hard on the ground. She groaned and rolled around before slowly getting to her feet. Her eyes widened at the forested area, wondering where the nearest city was as she pulled out her cell phone. She frowned at the lack of signal and glanced up one of the large trees that she had hit the whole way down. "Maybe I can get a signal up there," she said as she took a deep breath, stretching the bruises out of her back before reaching up to the first branch. She climbed as high as she could, lifting the phone above her head as she mumbled to herself.  
  
"What cha doing?" a voice above her startled her, causing her to shriek and drop her phone the seventy feet to the ground as she gripped the trunk of the tree.  
  
She glared up, her anger becoming more prominant at the sight of Sasuke hanging upside down from a branch, "what the fuck is wrong with you?" she snarled, looking down the tree to see of she could find the phone.  
  
"You won't be able to use these here," Sasuke said, holding Mark's borrowed phone out to Jesse.  
  
She snatched it from him, giving him a good glare as she tried for a signal with Mark's phone. She cursed before sighing and sliding the phone into her pocket, "so, how do you people fucking communicate here?" she asked getting a smile from the ninja.  
  
"Well..." he started, only to be cut off by a scream in the distance.  
  
"Chelsea!" Jesse hollered, "I'd know that scream anywhere."

* * *

Kasai gently landed on the ground with Max in his arms, making her smile as he set her feet on the ground.   
  
"Where were you when I was falling the first time," she asked, glancing around the area as he chuckled, "where are we now?"  
  
He shrugged, "I don't know."  
  
Max sighed, running her hand through her hair, "great," she mumbled, before Kori appeared. Max frowned, "I thought I said protect her."  
  
He rolled his ice blue eyes at her, brushing his white blonde bangs from his forehead, "I did."  
  
As if on cue, Chelsea's scream echoed around them, making Max frown at the kitsune, "remind me to take away your snowflake," she growled, taking lead as they raced through the trees toward where the scream was.

* * *

Chelsea knelt on the ground, her hands had been bound and her head was pushed forward. She remained silent, terrified of what was going to happen to her and what they had in store. _Max, Jesse, Mark...anybody. Help._ She prayed mentally  
  
"You're clothing is strange," a deep male voice said from above her.  
  
"Yeah," another male voice said, this one a few feet from Chelsea, "it's looks...kind of familiar. What do you think, Ogre breath?"  
  
"A little," the deeper male voice said as the man crouched down, using his achor spear to steady himself, "but I'm not sure about the woman inside the clothing."  
  
Chelsea kept her eyes on the ground, treating the two men like you would any wild animal. Her body shook from fear and the only thing she could think about was how much she wanted to be home right now. _I shouldn't have called James like I did. I should have just gone along with it. I shouldn't keep doing what James wants me to do_. She scolded herself, thinking about how wrong she had been as the first man leaned down, taking her chin in his fingers and tilting her head up to look at him. His royal blue eye looked dark with the flames of the fire flickering. She swallowed, watching as a wicked smile spread across his face, making him look like a demon.  
  
"You don't have to be afraid, sweetheart," he said, his voice a low growl, "just tell us who you are and where you're from."  
  
She felt her stomach do a flip as a tear broke free from the corner of her eye. She wanted to speak, but she was so terrified that the words wouldn't come out.   
  
The man frowned at her, letting her chin drop back down to her chest as the sound of a sword being drawn brought her attention back up to him.  
  
"If you aren't going to say anything, then we'll just kill you," he said, his smile replaced with an angry frown.  
  
"Unless there's something interesting you can tell us," the other man said, getting to his feet and swinging the anchor spear onto his shoulder.  
  
She shook, watching with wide eyes as the first man shrugged and started to lift the sword above his head. He started to swing down, only to stop at the sound of fighting behind her. He looked up, frowning before walking around her. She took several deep breaths, licking her lips as she glanced over her shoulder at the sound. Her eyes widened as she watched Max cut a man down without a second thought before moving onto another and another. _Why is she killing them?_ she thought, shaking her head.  
  
"MAX!" she called, bringing her attention to her before she stopped, her eyes widened with shock.

* * *

Max rushed toward the growing light, Kori on one side and Kasai on the other, feeling like a badass as she burst through the trees, slicing down the first man as Kasai jumped into the air, throwing a massive fireball at the ground near a large group. Kori slipped through the ranks, turning men here and there to Ice statues as he moved before Kasai broke them. She smiled, swinging the blades around like she was dancing as she moved through the groups. Kasai threw another fireball, landing a few feet from her, but she barely noticed as she squared off against four other men.   
  
"MAX!" Chelsea's voice, made her blink and turn to face whoever was holding her friend captive...until her eyes fell on the men.   
  
Her breath stopped as she stared at them, wide-eyed and they stared back. She swallowed past the driness, trying to relearn how to breathe. Her eyes burned with unshed tears as she dropped the swords, stopping Kasai and Kori mid motion. They glanced at her before looking at the two men standing across from her.   
  
"Chosokabe," she whispered, feeling her heart rate increase at the sight of him.  
  
"Max?" the man in purple's voice was breathy and sounded like he didn't believe what he was seeing, "is that..."  
  
Max gave a sob before rushing forward as he opened his arms, wrapping them around her as the two collided, hugging one another like they were the last two people on the planet. He held her close, stroking her hair and kissing the top of her head as she cried into his chest, "we thought you were dead," he whispered against her forehead.  
  
Max shook her head, "no," she said, leaning back slightly as she looked at him, "killing Nobunaga did something that sent me back to my time."  
  
His blue eye sparkled down at her as he looked over her face and body, "are you hurt?" he asked, stepping back to look her over.  
  
"Yeah," she said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand, "but the doctors fixed me up. Oh, I missed you so much."  
  
Chosokabe nodded, brushing his knuckles across her cheek, "my bed has been so cold and lonely without you," he said, lacing his fingers in her hair and pulling her close enough to put his forehead against her's, "I forgot to tell you how much I love you."  
  
Max sobbed again, placing her hand over his as she put her other hand against his chest, "I love you too," she said, new tears streaming down her face.   
  
"What the fuck?" Jesse's surprised voice brought Max and Chosokabe out of their lover's state.  
  
"And I'm standing right here too," the man in blue sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "talk about a let down."  
  
Max sighed and rolled her eyes, moving away from Chosokabe to stand in front of the man in blue. She glared up at him for a moment before lurching forward and giving him a hug, "I wouldn't forget about you, Masamune," she said, smiling as he wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders.   
  
He put his face against her hair, inhaling her scent before pulling back, "I would hope not," he said, giving her a smile.  
  
"Well, how could I, when you remind me of a giant smurf," she said, getting snort from Jesse.  
  
She went to Chelsea, making easy work of the knot as she released her. Chelsea glanced past Max to the scarey man in purple, "Chosokabe's your...boyfriend?"  
  
Max gave a nod, "yep," she said, going to Chosokabe and lacing her fingers through his, "smexy isn't he?"  
  
Jesse frowned as she walked around the group of downed men, "what the fuck did I just walk in on and why the fuck wasn't I invited?" she growled, giving Max a glare before glancing over the two men. She looked Masamune over before lifting her chin slightly, "nice swords. Over compensate much?"  
  
Max rolled her eyes as Masamune smirked at her, "what's there to over compensate for? I'm perfect."  
  
Jesse snorted, "perfectly obnoxious," she growled, pointing at him.  
  
Chosokabe chuckled, putting his arm around Max's shoulders, "I agree."  
  
Masamune snorted and gave Chosokabe a glare.   
  
Max glanced at the swords on his hips, blinking at the one that was different, "Masamune, what's with the weird sword?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked at it.  
  
Masamune frowned, glaring down at the sword like it bit him, "I lost one of mine and Kojuro's been kidnapped," he said, making Max gasp.  
  
"What?! We have to go get him," she said, getting a smile from Masamune.  
  
"It's good to have you back, Kitten," he said, stepping up to stand in front of her, "I missed the fireworks."  
  
Max frowned at him before poking him in the chest, "that's still not a compliment," she growled, blinking as he caught her hand and planted a gently kiss on her knuckles, making Chosokabe growl at him.  
  
"Get your own time traveler," Chosokabe growled, pulling Max's hand from Masamune, making the other man chuckle.  
  
Max smiled, taking Chosokabe's hand and wrapping her arm around Masamune's as she pulled them toward her friends. "Guys," she said, giving the three a smile, "this is Masamune Date and Chosokabe Motochika. Friends of mine here in the past."  
  
Masamune and Chosokabe blinked at the two, looking them over like they weren't sure about them while Jesse glanced over them with Chelsea hiding behind her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to note that I LOVE this image and want to thank whoever created it. It's so AWESOME. Aaaaaaannnnndd it shows both my guys in all their badassery. *sighs*


	5. Hideyoshi's Captive and Catching Up

 

Mark and James hit hard, knocking the wind out of both of them as they bounced across the area where the men were training. Mark was the first to recover, having been hit by Jesse most of his life. He looked around, blinking at the wide eyes they were getting from the men surrounding them as he slowly got to his feet. James groaned as he got up on his hands and knees, putting one of his hands to his head. Mark turned to him, giving the man a frown before the group of men parted, revealing a very large, very tall man in red and black armor.   
  
"You there!" a man with, what looked like a superhero mask, stepped forward, pointing at them, "who are you and where did you come from?"  
  
Mark blinked at him before glancing back at James as the other man watched the men in front of them, "uh...What's up? I'm..." Jame's voice cut him off as the other man spoke to the ground. Mark glanced back at him, frowning at the blonde as he bowed with his forehead to the ground.  
  
"We are time travelers that fell into your world," James stated as Mark gave him a raised eyebrow, "I heard of the great Hideyoshi and wished to see for myself how magnificent and powerful you truely are."  
  
Mark clicked his tongue, folding his arms over his chest as he glared down at James, "laying it on a little thick, don't you think?"  
  
"And, what of your friend here?" the masked man asked, casually waving toward Mark.  
  
Mark glanced at him, his green eyes scanning over the man before James spoke, "he merely got brought through time on a fluke," James said, making Mark blink and shoot him a glare, "I assure you, My Lord, he is no friend of mine."  
  
Mark stared at him with wide eyes before moving forward, giving James a swift kick to the face, crumpling the man to his side as he held his bleeding nose, "fucking ass wipe! If anybody's a hanger-on, it's you, you two-faced piece of shit!" he snarled as a few men moved forward, taking hold of his arms.  
  
Hideyoshi looked from James to Mark, his redish brown eyes moving over Mark, sending fearful chills down his spine. There was something about this man that twisted his stomach into knots.   
  
Hideyoshi gave a single jerk of his head, cueing the men holding Mark's arms to start dragging him away. Mark blinked, trying to fight the men off as he hollered curses at James, who had remained in the fetal position of bowing. They drug him through the compound while he hollered and yelled the entire way, trying his hardest to get them to release him before dragging him down into a dungeon like thing. One man opened the doors to a cell as the other two shoved Mark, roughly, inside, slamming the doors closed as he turned and tried to rush it. He slammed his shoulder into the hard steel, yelping as pain shot through his shoulder and down his arm. He turned, putting his back against the door and sliding down to sit as he gripped his arm. His eyes moved to the man that already occupied the cell, scanning over the scar across his cheek before he gave the confused looking man a slight lift of the chin.  
  
"What choo in for?" he asked, turning the man's full attention toward him.  
  
"I was captured by Takenaka Hanbei while...tending my garden," he said, looking a little embarrassed as he glanced away.  
  
Mark gave a chuckle, rubbing his shoulder, "at least you didn't get thrown under the bus," he said, getting a confused blink from the man, "the name's Mark. Mark Patchkins."  
  
"Kojuro Katakura," the other man said, tilting his head as he examined Mark for a moment, making Mark a little nervous.  
  
"Do I have something on my face?" he asked, rubbing his cheeks.  
  
Kojuro remained silent for a moment before narrowing his eyes, "you wouldn't happen to know a woman by the name of Maxine Star, would you?" he asked, getting a surprised blink from Mark.  
  
Mark nodded, "yeah. Actually, she's the one that convinced us to come here. Mostly to get away from the cops, but, if I like it," he said, putting his hands behind his head, "I might stick around."  
  
Kojuro watched Mark for a moment, "'us'? So more of you have come from your time?"  
  
Mark nodded, "yeah. Max. My step-sister, Jesse. Their friend Chelsea," he frowned, "and then there's James, the fucking asshat and Emma..." he paused, "but I only know where James is and I really wish I didn't."  
  
Kojuro listened thinking about how suddenly Max had disappeared from the battle, like she wasn't even there, leaving them all wondering about her very existance, but to have yet another time traveler or more made known. He looked at the man leaning against the door, frowning over his shoulder as he brought his knees up. _Max is back_ , was the only thing he could think before the doors started to open. Mark blinked, moving away from the doors and getting to his feet, ready to fight whoever entered the room.

* * *

They sat around the fire, Masamune and Chosokabe talking about how best to attack a man named, Hideyoshi while looking over a map. Max smiled, watching the two smirk at the map as they said the same thing, except their group going straight into battle. They gave one another a glare as they leaned forward, frowning at each other.   
  
"Hey, wait a minute," they growled at each other, making Max laugh.  
  
"It feels good to watch you guys glare at one another," she said, getting a tongue click from both men, "being in a coma for a few days sucks." They blinked at her, watching as she gave them confused looks, "what?"  
  
They glanced at one another before Chosokabe leaned his elbow on his knee and looked at her with that single bright blue eye, "Max, it's been over a year since Nobunaga's death," he said, making her blink at him.  
  
"What?" she breathed, turning her surprised eyes to the fire, "I was only gone a few days."  
  
Masamune shook his head, "you've been gone a lot longer than that," he said, watching as she frowned at the flames flickering on the logs.  
  
"So, if she's been gone a year here and was only in a coma for a few days in our time, that means the time warp thingy dropped us in a different time than you were in before," Chelsea said, getting a nod from Max.  
  
Jesse clicked her tongue as she leaned over the map on the ground, "so both of you want to take on the big mother fucker yourselves, huh?" she hummed, narrowing her brown eyes at the japanese symbols, "what kind of terrain does he have around his headquarters?"  
  
Masamune and Chosokabe shrugged.  
  
She frowned, giving each of them a glare before shaking her head, "you want to attack this son of a bitch without knowing what kind of area he's in and what sort of hardware he's fucking packing?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest as she glared at them, "what the fuck is wrong with you people?"  
  
Max grinned, "Oh boy," she said, eyeing Chosokabe with a michievious smile, "where to start."  
  
Chosokabe snorted, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against his body, "C'mere you," he growled, nuzzling her neck as she giggled.  
  
"Oh barf," Jesse mumbled, rolling her eyes as she looked at the map. She shook her head, "if there was a way to find out, I could help you guys out with a way to attack that would get both of you in on the action."  
  
"I could check it out," a voice said near her ear, making her shriek and turn, throwing her fist out to swing at air. Sasuke laughed as he hopped back a couple of paces, having moved right after saying something.  
  
Jesse glared at him with her fists balled at her sides, "what the fuck is your fucking malfunction, dick," she snarled, taking a few steps toward him as he moved back.  
  
"Sasuke, seriously," Max said, her voice stern as she glared at him, "Jesse is the last person you're going to want to play games with."  
  
Sasuke gave a shrug as he looked at Max, "I'll just keep in mind tha..." he was cut off by a foot to the gut, bending him in half with the force. He tried to catch his breath and move back, but Jesse's foot was already heading for his head, knocking him backwards in a flip before he landed on his head.   
  
Max sighed and shook her head, "I warned him," she mumbled, folding her arms over her chest as she glanced toward Chelsea, "what's up Chels?"  
  
Chelsea blinked, looking up at her with wide, fearful blue eyes, "so, there's still a war going on?" she asked, looking like she was about to cry.  
  
Chosokabe rolled his eye, "of course there is," he growled, leaning his elbow on his knee, "but there won't be once I conquer the entirity of country."  
  
Masamune clicked his tongue, "you mean when I conquer the entire country."  
  
They smirked at one another, both giving the other dead eyes.   
  
Jesse gave each of them a glare, "I don't give a flying, two-faced fuck who's in charge," she growled, waving her arms out as she glanced at Chelsea, "we need to find my idiot of a step-brother before he does something stupider and gets his ass handed to him."  
  
Max nodded, "I agree," she said, folding her arms over her chest as she concentrated on the map at their feet.  
  
"And James and Emma," Chelsea chimed in, making Max and Jesse blink at her before their faces turned into something that a monster would flinch from making Chelsea's eyes widen.  
  
Max got to her feet as she glared at the other woman, "what?" she said, her voice a low growl as she started to move to stand in front of Chelsea. Chosokabe, sensing the danger, took Max by the wrist, stopping her from moving forward anymore. Kori and Kasai vibrated on her back, ready for any fighting.  
  
Chelsea looked down, her hands folded in her lap as she swallowed.  
  
"You can't be fucking serious," Jesse said, tilting her head slightly, "this is a fucking joke, right?"  
  
Chelsea slowly looked up at them and shook her head, "James and Emma grabbed onto Mark before we were pulled through the time warp."  
  
Max's body shook with rage as her fingernails cut into her palm, causing her to bleed, "the fuck did you say?" she growled, her voice still remaining calm as her vision started to blur from the rage.  
  
Jesse turned to look at Max then, her eyes widening slightly as she moved to place herself between Max and Chelsea, "we really don't have to find those fucktards, do we?" she asked Max with a smile, but Max wasn't looking at her and Jesse mentally prepared for a fight.  
  
Masamune and Chosokabe stood at the same time, Masamune moving to place himself between Max and Jesse while Chosokabe slid his arms around her waist, laying his chin on her shoulder.   
  
"Siren," he said, his deep voice bringing her slightly back from her rage, "I don't know what those two did to you, but, prehaps taking out your rage on a defenseless woman isn't the way to do it."  
  
She blinked, her eyes still unfocused as his words started to sink in.   
  
"Mistress Max," a familiar voice said from a few feet behind her.   
  
She blinked, her mind recognizing the voice before she slowly turned, her rage still simmering on the surface. The man stood with a gentle smile on his face, his wild black hair tied up as his dark eyes scanned over her. She blinked again before his name slipped from her lips, "Hojikoto," she said, her voice gruff and not sounding like her own.   
  
He gave her a cautious nod as a couple of her men stepped out from both Chosokabe and Masamune's groups. She blinked again, her eyes starting to focus as they came to rest on Toto as he smiled at her.   
  
"Welcome back, Mistress," he said, his single eye closing as he grinned at her.   
  
She felt the rage start to dwindle into a small flicker as she looked at her men clad in blue and purple. She felt herself breathe a sigh of relief, glad that they were accepted before frowning at them, "so, where the fuck were you when I was fighting Oda, huh?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest and trying not to smile.  
  
"Just...fucking around," a man with a scar across his throat said with a grin as the other chuckled.   
  
Max's frown broke into a smile as she shook her head and went to the men, giving each of them a hug as they told her about what had happened after she disappeared.  
  
Masamune and Chosokabe glanced at one another before breathing sighs of relief as Masamune glanced back at Chelsea and Jesse. Jesse gave Max and her group confused brown eyes, tilting her head slightly as Max laughed with the men surrounding her.   
  
"So, what's the deal with these two people that pissed Max off so much?" he asked, turning and folding is arms over his chest as he looked between the two women.   
  
Chosokabe moved up to stand by Masamune, his anchor spear over his shoulder as he eyed the two with a brilliant blue eye.   
  
Jesse shot Chelsea a frown and a glare before folding her arms over her chest, "James is Max's ex-boyfriend," she said, putting her hand out, "he cheated on her with Emma, who use to be friends with Max."  
  
Chosokabe gave a nod, "Max told us that," he said, glancing at the woman as she waved off a comment one of the men said, "I think I want to meet this...James."  
  
Jesse rolled her eyes, "Good luck," she said, shaking her head, "I have no fucking clue where to even start in this god forsaken hell whole of a time."


	6. Hisahide's Lie

 

Masamune glanced at the map before taking a step back as a shiriken appeared in a tree, making Jesse and Chelsea jump. They blinked at the paper that was attached to the shiriken as Masamune pulled it from the tree. Max moved forward, her eyes going wide at the piece of metal that fell from the paper.  
  
One of the men picked it up, "That's Master Katakura's," he said, making her heart stop as she looked at Masamune.  
  
"What's the letter say?" she asked, her eyes wide while her voice was steady. She hoped Kojuro was alright.  
  
Masamune frowned, "Hideyoshi had Kojuro taken but now, Matsunaga has him and he's waiting for me up ahead," he said, folding the paper as he slid it into his chest pocket, "for now, these men are with you, Chosokabe. Attack the stronghold like you want. I'll catch up with you later."  
  
Masamune turned, mounting his horse as Max frowned at him, "you're seriously going to go fight whoever this guy is alone?" she asked, getting a nod from the one-eyed dragon.  
  
"You really think we're going to let you do that?" Chosokabe asked, smiling at Masamune, "Matsunaga is a slippery bastard. Besides, he doesn't know that I'm alive and kicking. This would be the perfect opportunity to get the jump on Hideyoshi AND Matsunaga. What'd ya say?"  
  
Max frowned, holding her tongue while she watched Masamune's back before he turned, giving Chosokabe a confident grin, "sounds like a wild party."  
  
Max took a breath, feeling a little relieved as she watched the two men grin at one another, excited for the battle to come. She turned, looking at Chosokabe with a frown, "so... when were you going to tell me that people think you're dead?" she asked, tilting her head as she gave him a skeptical glare.  
  
He blinked, looking at her with a smile before shrugging, "I didn't think it was relevant until now," he said, taking her hand in his and lifting it to his lips.  
  
Jesse cleared her throat before Max could fall into that beautiful pool that was Chosokabe's eye, bringing their attention to her, "what the fuck is Chelsea supposed to do? She can't fight worth shit," she growled.  
  
Chelsea's eyes went wide as she shook her head, "I don't want to fight," she said, looking about ready to bolt, "maybe you should just leave me here."  
  
"Suit yourself," Masamune said with a shrug, getting a glare from Jesse and Max. He never knew how disturbing it was to be glared at by more than one woman.  
  
Jesse shook her head, "I ain't fucking leaving her, half-sight," she growled, folding her arms over her chest, "and I doubt Max would leave without her either."  
  
Max shook her head, "I'm not," she said, looking at Masamune as he sat upon his horse.  
  
Masamune sighed and shook his head, "alright," he said, nodding toward the combined group of men, "which one of you wants to babysit?"  
  
A few clambered to volunteer, making Jesse frown at them, "over my dead fucking body!" she snarled, moving into a fighting position, "and if any of you want to try, I could use a work out."  
  
The men in the group glanced at Sasuke, standing a ways away from Jesse before looking really nervous. Max sighed and shook her head, "seriously, Jesse?" she asked, giving the woman a pleading look, "could you not scare our allies?"  
  
Jesse clicked her tongue, "these mother fucking pansies? I wouldn't call them allies if they were the last men on the planet."  
  
Max sighed, hearing a few of the men behind her shuffle angrily but not move forward to say anything. Max turned, looking at her men before giving them a small smile, "hey, Konome," she asked a man standing near the back with a book in his hand. He lifted his head as he moved forward, standing before her while tucking the book away.  
  
"Yes, Mistress?" he asked, watching her with dark eyes.  
  
"Would you mind taking care of Chelsea for me?" she asked, her voice pleasant as she slapped her hands together in front of her, "I promise to give you a book from my time."  
  
He blinked at that, thinking about it before giving a small nod, "you would like me to stay behind?" he asked making Max shake her head.  
  
"Nah, you can come, but I know that you're going to sit in the back and write everything down. So, I figured, she would be safer with you," she said, motioning Chelsea over.  
  
"I understand, Mistress Max," he said, giving her a small bow before looking at Chelsea.  
  
Max gave the nervous woman a smile as she motioned to Konome, "Chelsea, this is Konome. He's one of my men," she said, getting a snort from Jesse.  
  
"How many men you got?" she asked, getting an eye roll from Max.  
  
Chelsea gave Konome a nod, "it's n...nice to...meet you, Konome," she said, holding out her hand.  
  
He blinked at it before taking her hand and gently shaking it, "you as well, Lady Chelsea."  
  
When he released her hand, she pulled it back, putting it in the other hand against her chest before looking at Max, "are you sure it's a good idea to bring me along?" she asked, looking terrified.  
  
Max nodded, "I don't want to lose all my friends while we're here," she paused, tilting her head, "speaking of. Kori. Kasai."  
  
Their names brought them out of the swords to stand before her, making Chelsea give a small shriek as she jumped away from them. Kori frowned at her, his ears laying back against the top of his head as Kasai gave her a gentle smile.  
  
"What do you need, Spark?" Kasai asked, turning his attention to Max.  
  
"I need you two to find Mark," she said, getting a tongue click from the kitsune.  
  
"It's every man for himself here, Max," he said, folding his arms over his chest, "or have you forgotten that?"  
  
Max frowned at Kori, "I wasn't by myself, Kori, and neither were you," she growled, nodding toward Kasai, who glanced off in the distance like there wasn't an arguement going on.  
  
Kori snorted before giving in, "fine. We'll find your friend, but if we come across the other two, we'll bring them to you to be judged."  
  
Max rolled her eyes, "was that even a question?"  
  
Kasai laughed, slapping the thinner man on the back before giving Max a nod and turning into a flame that shot into the air and off in one direction. Kori sighed and shook his head before doing the same.  
  
"Shall we, Siren?" Chosokabe asked, his voice right next to her ear.  
  
She smiled and turned to him, giving both him and Masamune a nod as the rest of the men mounted their horses. Sasuke gave them a goodbye wave as he started to leave, pausing only for a moment as Max gave him a hug and told him to be careful. He smiled, hugging her back until Chosokabe clicked his tongue, telling them to break it up. Max and Jesse stayed on the ground, watching as Konome helped Chelsea onto the saddle in front of him, having her ride sideways with both arms keeping her on.  
  
"Max, Jesse," Chelsea gasped, stopped Max and Jesse as they started to move away from her, "I don't think I can do this."  
  
Jesse gave her an encouraging smile, "hey, Chel, don't worry."  
  
Max nodded, "yeah, Konome will keep you safe and sound, alright?"  
  
Chelsea sniffled and gave a silent, stiff nod before the other two women turned. Chosokabe sat atop the horse he borrowed, offering Max a hand up as she climbed up behind him. He smiled as she wrapped her arms around his waist, placing his hand over her's.  
  
"I missed you," she sighed, putting her cheek against his back.  
  
Jesse clicked her tongue at them, shaking her head as she gave them a glare, "oh barf."  
  
Masamune chuckled, offering her a hand up, "wanna ride with me, spitfire?" he asked, giving her a cocky grin as she frowned up at him.  
  
"I would rather walk," she growled, folding her arms over her chest.  
  
Masamune shrugged, "suit yourself, Spitfire," he said, getting the horse to start moving.  
  
Jesse clicked her tongue before sighing and rushing to follow, using her freerunning skills to jump from the ground, kicking off of a tree and landing on the horse behind Masamune, "you were seriously going to leave me here?" she growled, giving the back of his head a shove, "fucking samurai jackasses."  
  
Masamune blinked at the sudden contact before glancing back at the angry woman with a smile. _She's much different than Max_ , he thought, glancing over at said woman as she lay with her head against Chosokabe's back. He gave a heavy sigh as the horses started to pick up speed, racing across the ground toward Matsunaga.

* * *

Emma groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She put her hand to her head, thinking about the last thing she remembered and frowning at the memory of bouncing off the ground a few times before being knocked unconscious. Her mind went over everything before she frowned harder. "That son of a bitch," she growled, smacking her fist against the blankets beside her as she rememebered James letting go of her.  
  
"Who's a son of a bitch?" a smooth voice asked from across the room.  
  
She blinked, sitting up as she looked at the man kneeling there. His head gear looked like he had elf ears and he wore all white and dark teal. "Who are you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him as he gave her a gentle smile.  
  
"My name is Kenshin Uesugi, war lord of Echigo provence," he said, glancing over her for a second before looking her in the eyes, "and you are, my lady?"  
  
Emma blushed at being called 'my lady' and cleared her throat, "my name's Emma Janse. I came back in time with a couple of people, but we got...seperated..." she frowned at the words, not liking how they tasted in her mouth.  
  
Kenshin watched the woman for a moment as she frowned, "so, you're a time traveler," he hummed as a woman entered the room. Her clothing left nothing to the imagination, leaving most of her exposed, making Emma try to avoid looking at her. "Do you happen to know a woman by the name of Maxine Star?"  
  
His question startled her, making her blink at him for a second before she nodded, "yeah. Max. She's...or...she was a friend of mine," she said, lowering her eyes to the ground. Max and her had been friends since elementary school, spending most days together or talking with one another...until Emma had gotten a little too drunk and James convinced her to sleep with him. She did find him attractive but thought she could side step him, only to turn into puddy in his hands. Her biggest problem was that she couldn't remember saying yes or half the night before and after it.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" Kenshin asked, bringing her attention up to him.  
  
"No," she said a little too quickly before looking down into her lap, "I mean. Max and I use to be friends until I..." she swallowed, feeling the stabbing pain of guilt in her chest, "I slept with her boyfriend."  
  
Kenshin blinked at that, his eyes going a little wide at the woman's confession, "then, you are the one her boyfriend cheated on her with?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.  
  
Emma gave a sad nod, "yeah," she said, feeling the tears well up in her eyes, "Max and I have been friends forever and then...I was weak and James..." she frowned, shaking her head, "that's no excuse. James is a lying, coward that is only out for himself." She looked at Kenshin as he watched her work through things aloud, "do you know where I would start looking for Max and the others?"  
  
Kenshin shook his head, "I do not know," he said, glancing at the woman kneeling by the door, "but my most beautiful blade could search for them."  
  
Emma blinked, glancing at the woman before turning away, a little embarrassed, "that would be...nice," she said, wondering why the other woman was advertising so much of her body.  
  
"Then I shall return shortly," the woman said as she stood, "hopefully with good news."  
  
The woman disappeared, as if she wasn't even there, leaving Emma and Kenshin alone in the room. Emma glanced around the room, taking note that she was, actually, in a tent, not a room. "So," she started, looking at Kenshin, "when am I?"

* * *

They raced across the ground, only to come to a pause as explosions rang out around them. Max screamed, the blasts surprising her as she tightened her grip around Chosokabe's stomach. Chelsea, tried to bury herself in Konome's chest, gripping his arm as she screamed, closing her eyes. Jesse yelped, grabbing the back of Masamune's coat before correcting herself and bringing her hands back to her lap as Masamune gave her a grin over his shoulder. They looked forward, eyeing the giant hole that appeared from all the explosives.  
  
"Time to fly, you sons a bitches," Chosokabe growled, giving the canyon a grin.  
  
Max's eyes widened as she looked around him at the hole, "you can't be fucking serious!?" she yelped, glancing up at the back of Chosokabe's head.  
  
"We can't jump that," one of the men behind them cried.  
  
Jesse frowned, glancing back at them, "fucking cowards!" she called, getting a chuckle from Masamune.  
  
"There's only one way to find out," Chosokabe said, spurring the horse forward as Max wrapped her arms around his middle, closing her eyes and praying that they make it.  
  
"Damn straight!" Masamune replied, his horse leaping with theirs as Jesse laughed, grabbing onto his shoulders to keep herself from flying off the back of the horse.  
  
Max glanced back as Konome's horse followed with Chelsea screaming and begging to be left behind. She sighed, furrowing her brow as the horse landed, sprinting through the explosions as Chelsea's screams rang in everyone's ears.  
  
Jesse looked up at the man standing on the cliff, feeling her blood start to rush with the excitement of an empending battle. She leaned up and forward, putting her mouth near Masamune's ear, "I'll try to find your friend while you keep that fucker distracted," she said, getting a nod and a grin from Masamune as she sat back down and looked at Max, "Max! We'll look for that guy!"  
  
Max gave Jesse a nod, reaching back and pulling the silent swords from her back as she leaned forward, planting a kiss on the back of Chosokabe's neck before giving Jesse another nod. Chosokabe and Masamune glanced back in time to see Max and Jesse leap from the horses, landing in a skidding halt before darting into the trees surrounding the area around Matsunaga. _Good luck, My little Siren_ , Chosokabe thought as he turned his attention toward Matsunaga as the horses lept up to the cliff.

* * *

Max and Jesse moved through the trees until an explosion brought them to a stop. Max moved toward the edge of the tree line, her eyes going wide at the sight of Masamune and Chosokabe being blown out of the sky. She gasped as Chosokabe caught himself with his achor spear, trying to get back up to the top before another explosion sent him off and away from the cliff. She felt her heart stop as she screamed, reaching out as if she could grab him and keep him from falling. "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"  
  
Jesse quickly grabbed Max as the other woman started to fall to her knees, shaking her violently to snap her out of her sadness, "if we don't get that guy, then they will have died for nothing," she growled, giving Max another shake, "MAX!"  
  
Max blinked sniffling as she looked at Jesse and gave a nod, "you're right," she sobbed, clearing her throat as she stood, "you're right. We have to get Kojuro."  
  
Jesse nodded, taking the lead as Max pushed herself to keep moving forward. _Chosokabe, I will avenge your death, my love. My Ogre. He'll fucking regret hurting me,_ she thought, her thoughts spurring her on as they came to the edge of the trees several feet behind the man. Max took a deep breath, her body shaking with sadness and rage. _Why does everything I ever love get taken from me?_ she snarled in her head, her body moving to go after the man. Jesse caught her, bringing her attention to the brunette as she shook her head. She put her finger to her lips before pointing at the shack sitting off to the side. Max took a breath and nodded, following Jesse as the two silently made their way around the clearing to the shack. Max took several deep breaths, moving to lean around the side of the shack only to have her eyes widen.  
  
"What's wrong?" Jesse whispered, moving to look as well. Her eyes widened at the empty space where the man once stood, "where the fuck did he go?"  
  
Max shook her head, readying her swords as her grip tightened, "I don't know, but I don't like the looks of this," she said, nodding toward the door, "see if Kojuro's in there."  
  
Jesse nodded, making quick work of the lock before entering the shack. "Mother fucker!" Jesse cursed, marching out of the shack with a large sack over her shoulder. She dropped it onto the ground and frowned at Max, "unless your dude is a sack of flour, he's not here. That son of a bitch fucking lied to us."  
  
Max frowned as the wind shifted, making her feel uneasy. _First he takes down Chosokabe and Masamune, and now, we find out he didn't even have Kojuro_ , she thought.  
  
"Well, well, well," a deviant voice said from behind her, making her jump and turn, readying her swords, "if it isn't the Fallen Star."  
  
Max frowned at Matsunaga as he stood ten feet away with a sly smile on his face, "where's Kojuro?" she asked, her voice calm while the rest of her wanted to hurt him.  
  
The man just kept smiling, "he's not here."  
  
"No fucking duh!" Jesse growled, moving to stand next to Max in a fighting position, "we didn't fucking ask where he wasn't. Now where is he?"  
  
"My," Matsunaga breathed, putting his hands behind his back, "such language from such a pretty mouth."  
  
Jesse's eyes widened for a second before she clicked her tongue, "I'll give you a fucking pretty mouth," she growled, starting to move forward, "cuts and everything."  
  
His smiled turned up into a grin, making her pause and take a step back as he raised his hand, "the Fallen Star seems to have formed an alliance with a strange friend. Perhaps from your time as well?"  
  
Max frowned at him, "what the fuck does it matter?" she growled, feeling a little upset that he knew she was from a different time period, "all we want is Kojuro. Now where is he!"  
  
The man smiled before spreading his fingers wide, creating an explosion that sent Max and Jesse tumbling back in a cloud of dust, rock and branches. They rolled before ending up on the ground, the world swimming as they got to their feet. Max and Jesse glanced at one another before giving each other a nod. Jesse put her fist in her hand before rolling her shoulders and darting forward, moving as fast as she could while trying to avoid the man's explosive hand. She sent out a swift kick, stumbling back slightly as her leg was blocked by a man that just, suddenly appeared from nowhere. Max had rushed forward, bringing both her swords down at the same time Jesse went to kick Matsunaga, only to be blocked as well. The women blinked at the strange man before being knocked back and away.  
  
Jesse clicked her tongue as she glared at the new comer, "what the fuck kind of cheating is that? Can't fight your own fucking battles?" she snarled at Matsunaga as the newcomer unsheathed a short sword from his back.  
  
Max prepared herself, ready to take the man on before he disappeared, reappearing behind her. She had barely enough time for her brain to regester what had happened before he brought the hilt of the sword down on the back of her head, knocking her out cold. Jesse's eyes widened as she rushed forward, swinging wide with her fist, trying to connect with his head.  
  
"Bastard!" she snarled, doing a couple of jabs toward his stomach, and being blocked, "fucking hold still!" She did a spinning round house kick, trying to connect with his head again to no avail. He shoved her leg, sending her spinning so that her back was to him before he brought the hilt of the sword down on the back of her neck as well, knocking her out completely too.  
  
Matsunaga stood over the women, looking them over as they lay knocked out before his eyes settled on the swords laying at Max's sides. He smiled, lifting the one with blue and purple ribbon before frowning at the blade remaining still. He clicked his tongue, dropping the blade back down before looking at the other one, again, dropping it back to the ground. "She must have released the yokai that were inside the weapons," he said with a sigh before turning to leave, "perhaps I will find something else more...suited to my collection."


	7. Escapeing Imprisonment

 

Mark sighed as he lay on the floor with his hands behind his head. He glanced over at Kojuro, frowning as he did, "so, what's the plan on us getting the hell outta dodge?" he asked, watching Kojuro as he sat meditating. Mark sighed and sat up as the cell door started to open, bringing his attention to the superhero wannabe as he entered the cell.  
  
Mark frowned at him, moving so that he was leaning back against the wall as he watched the man turn to look directly at Kojuro.   
  
"You know why I'm here," the masked man started, "time is growing short. Very soon I will have your answer or your life."  
  
Mark rolled his eyes. _And the girls thought I was cliche_ , he thought, glancing at Kojuro as he sat with his back to the man.   
  
"I must insist on a decision by the time I return," he said, keeping his gaze on Kojuro.  
  
There was something...strange about this man. Something different than the first time Mark had met him. He looked like he was standing a little slouched. _Do people in this time slouch? I don't think I even saw the soldiers that drug me in here slouch_ , he thought, watching the man carefully. Usually, Mark had a keen sense for spotting when something was wrong with someone and this was no exception. _What's wrong with him?_  
  
"Rushing off to destroy Mori of Aki. You always intended to kill your ally, as did he, no doubt," Kojuro spoke up, his voice calm as he spoke. Like the guy didn't just threaten his life, "you two deserve each other. Based on what I could hear, your main force is headed east, for Odawara likely. Three or four others lie in wait. Your battalion and three others nearly as big," Kojuro lowered his head slightly, "you mean to finish this war."  
  
Mark blinked at him, a little surprised at his ability to know what was going on from inside the walls of a cell. His mind thought back to what they had talked about, before Matsunaga had entered.

 

_"So, you were planting flowers and they got the drop on you?" Mark asked, giving Kojuro a grin._  
  
_Kojuro frowned at him, "it's a vegetable garden," he said, his voice still calm but dark eyes were ready to smack Mark, "and Takenaka wants me to assist them in planning their conquest."_  
  
_Mark blinked at him before tilting his head, "why when the guy thinks he's an amazing tactition?"_  
  
_Kojuro shook his head, "I don't know."_

 

Mark blinked, watching as Takenaka eyed Kojuro with a smirk. Kojuro had turned to face Takenaka while Mark was lost in his thoughts. Takenaka turned, starting to leave as Mark tilted his head, not paying attention to the conversation. "How long have you been sick?" he asked, stopping the man in his tracks.   
  
Kojuro blinked, glancing at Mark with confused eyes as Takenaka turned to look at him, his lavender eyes narrowed. Mark shrugged, smirking at the man, bingo. "I was just curious because in the last day that I've not seen you, your posture's slouching and you look a little paler than last time."  
  
Takenaka frowned at him, turning toward him fully before slowly moving toward him, "how do you know?" he asked, standing in front of Mark with an angry glare.  
  
Mark shrugged, "I have a sixth sense about people being hurt or sick," he said, giving the man a dead-eyes smile, "and you are no exception. So, how long?"  
  
Takenaka stared at him for a moment, "can you heal me?"  
  
Mark shrugged, "depends. What are the symptoms?"  
  
Takenaka looked like he wanted to say but gave a close-mouth sigh before turning to leave, "it doesn't matter. My illness is in the final stages and I will no longer be able to serve my lord."  
  
Mark blinked in surprise at the man as he walked across the room and left, closing the cell door behind him. Mark clicked his tongue, getting to his feet as he stretched, "man, I wish they would forget to close that thing," he said, glancing at Kojuro.  
  
Kojuro was staring down at the broken sword in front of him, his eyes narrowed, "he wants me to replace him," he said, his voice empty.  
  
Mark nodded, "looks like it," he said, moving to sit across from Kojuro with his legs crossed. They heard the distant sound of horses rushing away from them, making Mark groan and fall back against the floor, "man," he whined, bringing his hands up to rest under his head. He felt the wind shift, making him blink at Kojuro looked up as a man wearing camoflage appeared from nowhere.  
  
"Sarutobi," Kojuro gasped, as Mark sat up, blinking at the man.  
  
"Guess you owe me one," Sasuke said, putting his finger to his lips.  
  
Mark sighed, "man, I'm glad to see you," he said, getting to his feet as the cell door opened. A woman entered wearing a skin tight black outfit that didn't leave anything to the imagination, making Mark lick his lips. "Well, HEELLLLOOOOO Nurse," he said, getting a glare from the woman.   
  
Sasuke chuckled and shook his head, "you think Jesse beating up on you is bad, Kasuga won't give you a warning," he said, making Mark blink out of his attracted state.  
  
He turned to Sasuke, "Jesse. You were with her," he said, moving forward, "is she okay? Is she hurt? Are all the girls alright?"   
  
Sasuke held his hands up in front of him, stopping the questions, "they're fine. Last I saw them, they were with Chosokabe Motochika and Masamune Date."  
  
Kojuro gave a small sigh of relief as he got to his feet, "that's good," he said, lifting the broken sword and sliding it into his sheath.   
  
"Chosokabe Motochika," Mark mused, tapping his finger against his chin, "isn't that that guy Max is with?"  
  
"Didn't you hear him? She IS with him," the woman said, her voice like ice.  
  
Mark clicked his tongue, "no, I mean...how the hell do I put it?"  
  
"Chosokabe is the one Max is intimate with," Sasuke said, getting a nod from Mark.  
  
"Cool," he said, following Kojuro out of the room. They moved down the hallway, trying not to make too much noise as they moved. Mark, having learned that a pin dropping would wake Jesse up, was almost as silent as the ninjas they followed. Kasuga lead them into a large room, slowly sliding the door closed behind them as Sasuke moved to unroll a large piece of paper over the desk.   
  
"So, that's what they're up to," he said, as Kojuro glanced over the map on the table, "the unit that was from Aki is the mobile fortress my scouts reported. Mori must have rebuilt Chosokabe's Fugaku."  
  
Mark frowned, "What the fuck is a Fugaku?"  
  
"A giant war fortress that can travel on land and sea, with a very large cannon that could level an entire city," Kasuga said, folding her arms over her ample chest, "Hideyoshi destroyed it and sent it to the bottom of the sea, but Mori took the opportunity to bring it back to the surface to rebuild it and use it for his own purposes, it seems.   
  
Mark frowned, turning his attention to the map, "sounds bad."  
  
"They even anticipated stealing it from Mori in the end. That's why they formed the alliance in the first place," Kojuro said, his voice thoughtful.   
  
"What?" Sasuke gasped before sighing, "guess that makes sense."  
  
"Just like Mori always planned on betraying them with a castle attack," Kasuga said, leaning over the map as she looked at it.  
  
Mark frowned, folding his arms over his chest, "so, Hideyoshi took his troop to take out Mori while Mori is on his way here to take out this castle," he said, getting nods from the three others. He clicked his tongue and turned to leave, "well, I don't know about you people, but I would rather not be in the building when it gets hit with a huge cannon ball."  
  
"Wait," the woman stopped him by grabbing onto his shirt, "you can't just wander off without us. You probably don't even know how to fight."  
  
Mark clicked his tongue, turning to glare at her, "I may not know how to fight, but thanks to my sister, I know how to defend and take one hell of a punch."  
  
Kojuro and Sasuke were still looking over the map when Sasuke spoke, "do these marking mean they're sending troop by sea?"  
  
"It looks like they're going to attack Owasigi from behind," Kojuro said, making the woman gasp and turn to look at the map.  
  
"What?" she breathed, moving to stand in front of it and stare at the arrow with wide eyes. Mark glanced at the map as Sasuke held something out to her.  
  
"Take it," he said as she gently took it from him, "fly to warn Kenshin."  
  
"Thank you," she sighed, holding the little flute like thing to her chest as Sasuke walked to a set of swords that were on display.   
  
He lifted one and held it out toward Kojuro, "now is not the time to be wandering around unarmed."  
  
Mark blinked as a whirling flurry of black feathers appeared behind Sasuke, making the other two gasp.  
  
"Sasuke!" Kasuga cried out as Sasuke turned, smacking an outreached hand away from him.  
  
He moved back, dodging as the new ninja appeared behind him and took a swing at him. Kasuga moved to help as Kojuro stayed behind the table, ready to pull the broken sword while he watched the three ninjas fight. His eyes widened slightly when the newest ninja paused before pulling both his swords and attacking Sasuke.  
  
"Don't worry about me," Sasuke cried, making Kasuga pause, "go warn your lord of the surprise attack."  
  
Kasuga blinked at him, wanting to help but knowing that she had to warn Kenshin. She gave a nod before jumping out the window and blowing the flute making a hangglider appear. Mark moved to stand on the other side of the table, not wanting to get in the way as the two ninjas danced around the room, dodging and returning each attack.   
  
"Sarutobi! It's the sword!" Kojuro said, making Mark blink at the two ninjas.  
  
The new one looked like he was after the sword Sasuke was using, ignoring the others in the room. Mark gave a nod as he moved around the room, making sure to put himself against the wall as the two ninja moved toward the window. Mark took a deep breath, hoping that Sasuke would let go of the sword if this worked. He rushed forward, hitting Sasuke in the side and sending him out the window. Sasuke hollered, releasing the sword as he took hold of Mark's outstretched hand. Mark leaned back, putting his foot against the railing as he stopped himself and Sasuke from falling completely. The new ninja jumped out the window after the sword, disappearing once he had ahold of it, making Mark blink. He pulled Sasuke into a standing postition, getting a rough shove from the ninja as he gave Sasuke an apologetic grin.  
  
"Sorry, man," Mark said, rubbing the back of his head, "you just weren't listening and that was the only thing I could think of."  
  
Sasuke clicked his tongue, "no wonder Jesse has anger issues," he said, getting a laugh from the other man.   
  
Kojuro stepped up to stand next to Sasuke, staring out the window as he did.  
  
"What do you think he wanted the sword for?" Sasuke asked.  
  
"I don't know," Kojuro replied, sounding wary.

* * *

They rushed through the compound and mounted a couple of horses, making Mark a little nervous as the horse whinnied and stomped it's feet. They rode hard, trying to get out as the soldiers that chased after them started to grow in numbers.   
  
"What the fuck are we going to do?" Mark called toward Kojuro as he followed the other man.   
  
Kojuro started to slow, looking over at a bunch of grates placed in the ground. Mark stopped beside him, listening to the insults from the men trapped in there. He smiled, "those are my kind of men," he said, following Kojuro's lead as they dismounted. He found a coil of rope and pulled it toward the grate while Kojuro opened it. Mark tied off the rope and tossed it into the pit, smiling as it became taut as the men started to climb out. Mark gave the first to reach the top a nod as he and Kojuro mounted their horses and took off at a sprint, rushing past the men guarding the gates like they weren't even there. 


	8. Separating...Again

 

Max groaned as she shifted against something hard and warm, snuggling against it as it rumbled. She slowly opened her eyes, looking up at Chosokabe as he smiled down at her.   
  
"Look who's finally awake," he said, helping her to stand in front of him.   
  
Her eyes went wide as she rushed up, wrapping her arms around his neck as he tried to keep her on her feet. She sobbed against his neck, hugging him tight as he chuckled in her ear, "I thought you were dead," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she nuzzled his neck. "I watched you fall."  
  
He hugged her tighter, closing his eye against the feeling of her body against his, "it'll take a lot more than a mountain falling on me to kill me."  
  
She gave a cough laugh as she pulled away, wiping the tears from her cheeks. She reached out, giving him a playful punch in the stomach, making him chuckle, "don't ever do that again," she said as he lifted his hand and placed his palm against her cheek. She put her hand over his, turning her face into his hand as he stroked her cheek bone with his thumb.   
  
Jesse's tongue click brought her back from the dream she hoped she wasn't in, turning her attention to the other woman and Masamune. Her eyes lit up as she went to Masamune, giving him a hug that surprised him. Masamune sighed, hugging her back before she moved away from him.  
  
"It's a good fucking thing you Sengoku bastards aren't easy to kill," Jesse said, giving Chosokabe a glare, "or I'd kill ya for hurting my friend."  
  
Chosokabe laughed, shaking his head as he moved forward to place his hand on Max's hip, "you don't have to worry about that, Jesse," he said, smiling as Max leaned back against him.  
  
 _I'm so glad they're okay,_ Max thought as the sound of fast approaching hooves brought their attention to a couple of men riding horseback toward them.   
  
"Lord Masamune!" Max recognized Kojuro's voice and turned to give the man a smile. Her eyes widened at the second man as he stopped behind Kojuro, grinning at them.  
  
"Hello ladies," Mark said, dismounting from his horse as he walked toward them, "hold your applause! The party has arrived!"  
  
Max gave a smiling breath of relief as Jesse frowned and moved toward him like a storm ready to explode, "MARK!" she snarled, taking a swing at the man.  
  
Mark moved back, easily dodging her attacks as he took several steps away from her, "JESSE!" he hollered back, ducking under her arm before moving forward and wrapping his arms around her. He lifted her from the ground, making her yelp as she beat against his shoulders and neck. Her attacks slowed until her arms slipped around his neck, hugging him as she started to cry.  
  
"Mother fucking ass wipe," she sobbed, her body shaking as he smiled.  
  
"It's alright sis," he said in her hair, "I'm here now."  
  
Jesse sobbed against his neck as Chelsea and Max moved forward, hugging Mark and Jesse in a big group hug.   
  
"Where were you?" Jesse demanded as he lowered her to the ground. She glared up at him through puffy red rimmed eyes before giving him a punch in the gut, "mother fucker! Max told you not to let go!"  
  
Mark chuckled as he stood, wrapping his arm around his sister's shoulders as he looked at the two men standing behind them, "if I didn't, James would have been here with you guys and I really don't think he would survive Max's boyfriend," he said, glancing over the two men before he glanced at Max, "soooo....which one is he?"  
  
Max had moved away to give Kojuro a hug, glad that he was alright as well before blinking at Mark. A wicked grin spread across her face as Jesse and Chelsea seemed to pick up on it.   
  
Chelsea cleared her throat, glancing off in the distance, "we're not supposed to say," she said, sounding apologetic as her violet eyes looked mischivious.  
  
Jesse grinned as she leaned toward him, "yeah, jackass," she growled, poking him in the chest, "guess."  
  
Mark frowned, "seriously? We're really doing this?" he asked, his voice monotone as he glanced over Chosokabe and Masamune. He then glanced at Kojuro and Max as she stood a few feet from him before smiling, "I think Max is with Kojuro."  
  
Max, Chelsea, Jesse and Kojuro blinked at him in surprise before Chosokabe clicked his tongue, "like Hell," he snarled, moving across the way to pull Max away from Kojuro.  
  
Mark gave them innocent eyes as he blinked at them, "no?" he glanced at one of the men standing off to the side, "then how about this guy? He looks ordinary enough."  
  
Max clicked her tongue and glared at Mark, "now you're just being an ass," she growled, folding her arms over her chest.  
  
Jesse gave a frustrated grunt before bringing her foot up to connect with Mark's head, sending the man sprawling on the ground, "choose right, fucker!"  
  
Mark chuckled as he got to his feet, not even bothering to rub the bruise forming, "I didn't have to," he said, giving Max and Chosokabe a grin as Masamune laughed.  
  
"I like this guy," Masamune said, glancing at Kojuro, "it's good to have you back, Kojuro."  
  
Kojuro nodded, "it's good to be back," he said before turning to Chosokabe as the pirate glared at Mark, "Lord Chosokabe, a battle to avenge your death rages in Osaka castle. They are fierce, but they are few."  
  
Chosokabe looked at him with a surprised eye before standing tall and glancing around, "guess I have a more pressing issue," he said, glancing at Masamune, "I'll have to go rescue my brave sea dogs, but I'll catch up when I can."  
  
"Assuming that I'm not either victorious or dead, by the time you get there," Masamune said, giving the pirate a grin.  
  
Chosokabe grinned back, nodding at Masamune before glancing at Max, "what do ya say, Max. Care to join your Ogre in this battle."  
  
Mark gave a loud laugh before grinning, "sorry, it's a weird title," he said, glancing off toward a group of men that were standing by themselves.  
  
Max glanced at her friends, feeling torn between staying with them or going with Chosokabe. It wasn't like they would be right around the corner like they were in their time. She half feared that she would never seen her friends again, while also afraid to lose Chosokabe. Not that this battle would kill him, but she didn't want to be torn from him ever again.   
  
Chosokabe gave a sigh through his nose before planting a gentle kiss on the side of her head, "you should stay with your friends," he said, turning her wide emerald eyes up to him.  
  
"But..." he placed a finger on her soft lips, stopping her thought as he shook his head.  
  
"They don't know anything about this time period and you would be better suited to showing them than coming with me," he said, leaning down to look her in the eye, "besides, I'll find you no matter where you go."  
  
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, giving Chosokabe a smile as they leaned into one another, kissing. He resisted the urge to pull her against him while she did the same as they pulled apart. "You better come back for me or I'll find a way back to this time and kick your ass for my trouble," she said, getting a chuckle from the warlord.  
  
"It's a deal, my little siren," he said, mounting his horse and waiting for his warriors to get ready to leave.  
  
Chelsea swallowed, started to become afraid again as Mark took her hand and lead her to his horse, "Mark," she said, stopping him as he tried to help her onto the horse, "I don't want to go," she sobbed, shaking her head.  
  
Jesse clicked her tongue, "seriously? Is this going to be a fucking thing EVERY time?"  
  
Max shot a glare at Jesse, making the other woman hold her hands up as she went to Chelsea, "it'll be alright, Chel. We've just got the one battle left and then we won't have to worry about it anymore. Okay?"  
  
Chelsea started to sob, tears streaming down her cheeks as she shook her head, "I don't want to be here anymore! I don't want to do this anymore! I'm scared, Max! I'm scared and I want to go home!"  
  
Jesse moved forward, about ready to hit Chelsea. Mark moved to stand between them, putting his hand against Jesse's shoulder to stop her. Jesse clicked her tongue as she leaned around Mark to glare at Chelsea, "you don't think you're the only one who's fucking scared?" Jesse growled, "I'm scared too!"  
  
Her confession made Chelsea stop sobbing and Max and Mark blink at her in surprise before glancing at one another.   
  
Jesse glanced at the ground, letting the fear she felt since coming to this world show on her face, "I'm scared too, Chelsea," she said, her usually strong voice soft and quiet, "but I don't let that show because I know you're scared and, Chelsea, you're like a little sister to me," Jesse put her arm around Max and Mark's shoulders, "we're all family and we're here together to keep each other strong and safe. Right?"  
  
Max and Mark nodded in unison making Chelsea sniffle and wipe the tears from her eyes, "really?"  
  
They nodded again, making her smile.  
  
"Besides," Max said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder, "Masamune's pretty bad ass with those swords and likes to do a lot of fighting on his own, so I don't expect for you to get hurt."  
  
"If you got hurt because of me, our Firework here would explode at me," Masamune said, having moved up to stand beside Max. She rolled her eyes at him, making him grin as he turned his attention to Chelsea, who still looked terrified. He held his hand out to her, making her blink, "why don't you ride with me, then? I promise not to jump over any more giant holes."  
  
Max narrowed her eyes at Masamune, only to be ignored as she looked at Chelsea, "he's seriously bad ass," she said, her voice going high and sing-songy.  
  
"I don't know," Mark hummed, putting his finger to his chin as he crossed his other arm over his chest, "doesn't it say somewhere that dragons eat virgins?"  
  
Masamune rolled his eye before giving the other man a grin, "then I should probably start with you, huh?"  
  
Mark frowned at Masamune as the girls laughed, making Masamune grin at him. Chelsea smiled and took a deep breath, nodding as she took Masamune's hand and let him lead her to his horse. He helped Chelsea onto the horse, hopping onto the saddle behind her as he gently placed his hands on her hips to keep her in place. She's so much smaller than Max, he thought, glancing at the others as Jesse got on the back of Mark's horse and Kojuro helped Max onto his. Jesse held Mark's shoulders, feeling a little nervous at riding with him since he had rarely even seen a horse before now.   
  
"Do you know what you're doing?" Jesse asked, leaning around him as he untangled the reins.   
  
"Piece of cake," Mark said, furrowing his brow at the mess of leather, "...maybe."  
  
Jesse's eyes widened before she shook her head, "let me steer, fucking woman."  
  
Mark gave her a glare and shook his head, "my horse," he growled, turning back to the knot, "you can steer the next one."  
  
Max sighed and leaned her forehead against Kojuro's back, causing him to stiffen, "if we wait for those two to finish argueing, the war will be over."  
  
Kojuro chuckled as he moved his horse to stand next to Masamune's.  
  
"Next time we meet, let's have a duel on the sea," Masamune said, getting a grin from Chosokabe.  
  
"I'll definately win that one," he said, turning his gaze to Max and Kojuro, "take care of her, Right eye, or I might have to take care of you."  
  
Kojuro gave a stiff nod, making Max roll her eyes, "I can take care of myself," she growled back at the pirate, getting a gentle smile from the man.  
  
"I'll see you later, Maxine," he said, his voice making her name a growl that made her shiver.   
  
She shot his knowing grin a glare before turning to face away from him, "fucking pirates."  
  
Chosokabe glanced at his men, "Ahoy, you sea dogs! We're going to Osaka!" he cried out.  
  
"Bye Chosokabe," Mark, Jesse and Chelsea all said in sing-songy voices, making Max give them each a glare. They laughed at her.   
  
Chosokabe smirked before taking off, leading his men in the direction Mark and Kojuro had just come from.  
  
Max took a deep breath, swallowing the fear of never seeing him again. She opened her mouth, starting to sing ( **The Prayer - Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli** ) as Chosokabe rode off into the sunset. Chelsea, Jesse and Mark looked at Max before glancing at one another and shrugging. Mark started singing the male Italian part as Jesse sang the next female part, performing a duet perfectly. Masamune and Kojuro listened to them singing, smiling at the sound as it brought back memories from before Max had been captured and disappeared. Chelsea and Mark sang the Italian duet, before the women sang the next english part together. Chelsea and Mark finished up the song with the italian words. Max only hoped that the song had reached Chosokabe as he left and that it would keep him safe as he fought. 


	9. Racing across the country

 

Emma sat on her knees with a tray of food in front of her. She knew she had to eat, but she couldn't. Her stomach turned every time she thought about Max and the others being out there. She wanted to know where they were, but the woman that left had been gone for a long time, making her wonder if she didn't get captured or killed. She gripped the kimono Kenshin had given her, furrowing her brow at the cold rice in the bowl.  
  
"What's wrong, Lady Emma?" Kenshin asked, looking over her face as she glanced up at him.  
  
"I'm just worried," Emma said, feeling her heart sink with each passing moment.   
  
Kenshin gave her a reassuring smile, "don't worry. I'm sure your friends are fine."  
  
Emma gave a sigh and a small nod, "I hope so," she said, looking down at her tray with sad eyes.  
  
Kenshin watched the strange woman as she stared at the food, feeling sorry for her and wondering how different each person from the furture was. Where Max was strong and confrontational, this woman was shy and timid. Kasuga appeared before him, making Emma jump and give a small yelp. She ignored the furture woman, only to kneel before Kenshin.  
  
"My lord Kenshin," Kasuga said, her voice quick and breathy, "there is a troop headed here to ambush us and try to take our land."  
  
Kenshin frowned as he set his tea down on the tray, "then have the men prepare to defend at a second's notice," he said, getting to his feet and looking at Emma.  
  
A blue flame rushed into the tent, spreading into a bright blue light before disappearing, leaving Kori standing in the center of the tent. Emma's eyes widened at the Kitsune as he set his cold, ice blue eyes on her.  
  
"Kori," Kenshin said, his voice strained as Kori turned his attention to Kenshin, "then Max is nearby?"  
  
Kori shook his head, "I just followed the path from the sky that lead me to this woman," he said, turning his attention back to Emma, "you are to come with me."  
  
Emma shook her head as she scuttled back and away from Kori, her eyes wide in fear, "what the hell are you?"   
  
Kori gave a frustrated sigh, the ears on the top of his head twitching as he listened to the distant sound of approaching horses, "we don't have time and I would rather not be caught up in another human scuffle," he growled, moving forward and lifting Emma from the ground, effortlessly throwing her over his shoulder before turning for the exit. He paused and gave a frustrated sigh before dropping her to the ground, "see what you did? Now I have to stay here and help," he growled, his sharp teeth flashing from between his lips.  
  
Emma gave the yokai a glare as she got to her feet, "I didn't ask to come here in the first place! James drug me along," she snarled back, baring her own human teeth at him.   
  
He snorted, glancing at Kenshin who was watching the exchange with an amused smile, "what say you, War God? Will you be able to handle the troops headed for you alone, or do you need my assistance?"  
  
Kenshin gave Kori a smile before motioning toward Emma, "it would be best to take this woman to her friends, where, I'm sure, she will be much safer."  
  
Kori gave Kenshin a nod before grabbing Emma, once again, and tossing her over his shoulder. She yelped, beating her fists against his back a few times before he took off at a run, making her scream and grip the back of his kimono.

* * *

Max held tight to Kojuro's coat as they raced through the brush. He was determined to take out the man who had put the scar on Masamune's armor, and Max was willing to support him, if needed. She trusted Masamune to take care of Chelsea, if need be, and Jesse to take care of everyone else. Kojuro didn't need her with him, but she was along for the ride anyway. She felt the swords on her back, seeming heavy without Kasai or Kori within them. She glanced back at the hilts and gave a sigh, wishing that they were there.  
  
"We're almost there," Kojuro's deep voice brought her back from her thoughts, turning her attention toward the group of men riding along the edge of the forest.  
  
Max blinked at the man wearing the purple mask before cracking a smile, "seriously? You're seeking revenge on a comic book character?" she asked, chuckling at her own joke.  
  
"He put that scar on Lord Masamune's back and I will not have that happen again," he growled, halting the horse in front of the group, stopping them.   
  
Max stayed on the horse as Kojuro jumped down, walking like a man on a mission. One man moved forward, swinging his sword down to hit him, only to slice air as Kojuro, gracefully stepped out of the way and brought his fist around, knocking the man into a flying spin. Another took the opportunity to try to slice across Kojuro, missing as well before he brought his fist up in an uppercut, knocking the man backwards. Another ran forward, lifting his sword high as Kojuro grabbed him by the collar and jerked him forward, headbutting the man right in the nose. He snatched a sword from the ground before attacking the remaining men, ending with him standing in front of the masked man. Max blinked, extremely impressed with how amazing Kojuro was at fighting without a sword, having never really seen him fight someone...except when he was training her but that wasn't really fighting. She blinked out of her shocked state just in time to watch the man take a couple of steps forward before dropping to his knees, coughing. Blood trickled from between his fingers and she couldn't help but slide from the horse's back and walk toward him.  
  
"Looks like Mark was right and you're on borrowed time anyway," Kojuro said, his voice cold as he tossed the sword off to the side.   
  
Max leaned forward, looking at the masked man with her head slightly tilted, "you've got tuberculosis," she stated, making him turn his dark violet gaze up to her, "it would also be called comsumption," she frowned, "even 400 years from now, there's still no cure for it."  
  
Kojuro glanced at her, "so medicine hasn't advanced too far?"  
  
Max shook her head, "not far enough to cure cancer," she said, standing straight and folding her arms over her chest as she looked at the man. She felt the wind shift before Kasai appeared at her shoulder, a dark frown on his face. She jumped slightly, still not use to the appearance of the spirits of the blades.   
  
The man in the mask looked up, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of Kasai before he looked at Max fully, "you're...The Fallen Star," he stated before being thrown into a fit of coughing.  
  
"Yeah. That's what they call me, anyway," she said before turning to look up at the tall Salamander. "What's with the frown, Kasai?" she asked, almost knowing the answer, "did you find James?"  
  
Kasai gave a stiff nod before heaving a heavy sigh and folding his arms over his chest, "but you aren't going to like it."  
  
She frowned back, "I didn't like it when I found out that bastard came here with us. So tell me the worse news, already," she sighed, running her hand roughly through her hair.

* * *

Chelsea blinked past the horse's head to the man laying in the middle of the dirt. Her eyes widened at the thought of him being dead. Masamune clicked his tongue above her as they got closer, a frown gracing his lips.  
  
"Is he dead?" Jesse's words voiced what Chelsea was thinking.   
  
"No," Masamune said, stopping the horse near the man on the ground, "not physically."  
  
Chelsea glanced up at him before looking back at the man, "shouldn't we help him?" she asked, her voice quiet and unsure.   
  
Masamune glanced down at the woman sitting in front of him and shook his head, "I wouldn't," he said, urging the horse to move.  
  
He heard Mark holler as Jesse jumped down from the back of the horse and marched to stand beside the man laying in the dirt. She leaned over him, narrowing her brown eyes at him as she snapped her fingers above his face, "hey buddy! You fucking alive, or what?"  
  
He didn't say anything. He just blinked past her like she wasn't even there.  
  
"Leave him," Masamune said, his voice stern.   
  
Jesse clicked her tongue and stood straight, giving him a glare, "I'm not going to just leave a man in the dirt to die," she growled as she turned, like she was ready to fight, "so you can go fuck yourself, Date."  
  
Masamune sighs and shakes his head, "he tried to win a war with words and lost," he said, giving the horse a gentle nudge in the side, "he'll get up when he's ready."  
  
Chelsea frowned and glared up at him, "not all wars are won on the battlefield, you know," she said, her voice more solid than usual.  
  
Masamune looked down at her, almost making her wilt under his strong, confident gaze. He gave her a half smirk, "the ones I know about are."  
  
Chelsea swallowed, looking down at her lap as she rode side-saddle, "then you mustn't be very good at negotiating," she mumbled her thought's aloud, making her blink. _Damn, Jesse and Max are starting to rub off on me,_ she thought.  
  
Masamune chuckled, a low rumbling that made her glance at him, "well, well, well. Looks like this quiet kitten isn't as declawed as I thought," he said, giving her a grin as she narrowed her eyes in a glare.  
  
"I'm NOT a kitten," she growled, turning slightly to try to look more intimidating. It only made his grin widen.

* * *

Max frowned at the back of Kojuro's coat as they raced across the ground toward the direction that Masamune and the Date soldiers were headed. Her mind span with the report Kasai gave her about James, saying that he had joined Hideyoshi's battalion and rode right next to the man. She ground her teeth, her fingers gripping Kojuro's coat without realizing it, keeping her in check. Kojuro glanced over his shoulder at Max, slightly concerned at the scowl she worn and the grip she had on the back of his coat. She hadn't stopped frowning since Kasai had told her about James...her ex betrothed.   
  
"What are you going to do when you find this, James?" Kojuro asked, turning his attention forward.  
  
Max blinked out of her thoughts, looking up at the back of Kojuro's head before looking down at her hands, still gripping his coat. She slowly let go and gave a heavy sigh, shaking her head as she did, "I don't know," she mumbled, leaning her forehead between his shoulders, "I want him dead, but I know that killing him wouldn't solve anything," she frowned at her own words, "where the fuck did that come from?"  
  
Kojuro smiled at Max scoulding herself, "I'm sure Chosokabe will come up with something," he said, feeling it hit him in the gut.  
  
Max sighed and shook her head, leaning back slightly on the horse, "he'll just want the fucker dead...which is what I want at this point," she growled, leaning over slightly to try to get a better look at Kojuro's face, "do you know what kind of shit that son of a bitch put me and my friends through?!?" And she was off.

* * *

Jesse was glaring over Mark's head at Masamune as they rode after him, standing, crouched on the saddle to practice her balance as the horse rocked back and forth.  
  
"Seriously, Jess, you're starting to hurt my neck, using my head as a balance railing," Mark said, moving his head to get her attention.  
  
Jesse frowned, smacking Mark on the back of the head before standing tall on the horse, "I'll do whatever the fuck I want," she growled, folding her arms over her chest as they came to an outpost, or sorts. The brick walls were tall and dark, making Mark and Jesse think of an evil castle where a witch lived.   
  
Mark frowned harder the closer they got, "I don't like the look of this."  
  
Chelsea stared with wide eyes at the castle, unconsiously leaning back into Masamune, making him glance down at her. She started to shake uncontrolably, looking like a scared little bunny. He gave her a gentle smile as he put his arm around her, giving her a tight, reassuring hug.  
  
"Don't worry, timid kitten, I'll protect you," he cooed in her ear, making her glance at him before swallowing and looking down. _Is that a blush?_ he thought, making his smile widen as the horse moved forward, straight through the castle gates.


	10. James Down

 

Kori frowned at the woman he was now in charge of, wishing that he could just dump her into a river or something. She forced him to stop, once again, because the way he was carrying her hurt her stomach. He narrowed his ice blue eyes at her, his tail flicking behind him as he folded his arms over her chest. She sat upon a rock, leaning forward as she took several deep breaths, trying to calm her rolling stomach.   
  
"We don't have time for this," he growled, glancing off in the distance with his ears twitching a top his head.   
  
Emma frowned at her lap before turning her angry gaze up to him, "we wouldn't have to stop if you wouldn't carry me like a sack of potatos," she growled back as she stood and glanced around, "are you sure you're taking me in the right direction?"  
  
He frowned at that but remained silent, looking at her with narrow eyes before closing the distance between them in the blink of an eye. Emma yelped and stumbled backwards, almost falling flat on her butt before she was lifted from the ground bridal style. She blinked up at the kitsune's face as he glared down at her with a frown, "better?"  
  
She felt her cheeks heat up as she gave him a stiff nod before he started moving again. _Wow, he's gorgeous_ , she thought as she looked at her knees.

* * *

Masamune stood facing Hideyoshi as Jesse, Mark and Chelsea stood staring at James in disbelief. He wore Hideyoshi's colors and armor and stood at the very large man's shoulder with a superior smirk on his face. Jesse ground her teeth, fighting the urge to rush forward and knock said smirk off his face, along with his head.   
  
Hideyoshi glanced over the three, his red-brown eyes scanning them before he frowned, "you said that the Fallen Star would be here," he said, his deep voice seeming to vibrate the very ground.   
  
James's eyes widened for a moment before he swallowed and gave the man a deep bow, making Chelsea's eyes widen and fill with tears, "if she is not here now, Master Hideyoshi, then she will be here soon," he said, standing straight and giving the three time travelers a glare before moving forward.   
  
Masamune moved as well, putting himself between James and the three Max had entrusted to his charge, "I'd stay right there, if you don't want to lose your head," Masamune said, giving the man a smirk as he pointed one of his swords at him.  
  
James stopped, giving Masamune a slightly confused blink before clicking his tongue. He pointed at Chelsea, "that's MY sister you're holding hostage, One-eyed Dragon."  
  
Chelsea blinked, feeling her heart stop in her chest as her eyes moved to Masamune. She didn't know how he would react, but she didn't expect it to be good. In this time, most would take whatever sins her brother did and assume that she did the same. She swallowed, feeling her eyes burn with unshed tears.   
  
"And?" Masamune's lack of interest made her blink.  
  
James seemed surprised by Masamune's answer as well, blinking at the man in blue before frowning and folding his arms over his chest in a huff, "she's supposed to be on my side and I want her returned to me."  
  
Jesse clicked her tongue, starting to move up before Mark grabbed her arm, "damnit Mark! Let go! I'm going to teach this fucker a lesson once and for all," she snarled, trying to jerk her arm out of his grip.  
  
"Let Masamune handle this, Sis," he said, his voice barely above a whisper and serious.  
  
Jesse looked over his face for a moment before letting out a frustrated huff, "fine," she growled, putting herself slightly more in front of Chelsea, just in case.   
  
Masamune smirked, sliding his sword back into the sheath before turning to look at Chelsea. He waved her up toward him, making her heart hammer in her chest. Jesse blinked, stepping in front of Chelsea to stop the woman's movements while facing Masamune with a frowned.  
  
"She's not going anywhere," she snarled, turning slightly to be prepared for a fight.  
  
Masamune kept that smirk on his face, but his royal blue eyes were dark with warning, "he wants his sister back, Jesse," he said, giving a slight nod to Mark before the man grabbed onto Jesse. Masamune waved Chelsea forward again, as Jesse struggled against her brother, cursing and snarling.  
  
Chelsea felt her body start to tremble as she moved, her feet like lead as they drug through the dirt. _Please no_ , she thought as tears started to trickle down her cheeks, _I don't want to go with James._ A hand on her arm stopped her as she started to pass Masamune. She took a shaky breath as a sob broke from her lips. She put her hand to her mouth, trying to keep any other sobs from coming out as Masamune looked over her face.   
  
"Stop fucking crying," James snarled, his blue eyes full of hatred as he glared at his sister, "that's all you ever do is cry."  
  
Masamune frowned at the man before turning Chelsea to face him. He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him with fearful, sad violet eyes. His frown deepened as James threw out a few more insults at her. "Do you trust me?" Masamune asked, making her blink at him, the sadness replaced with confusion. She swallowed and shook her head, making him smile as he slid his hand across her cheek and through her hair, "good girl," he whispered, pulling her forward and planting his lips on her's making her squeak in surprise.

* * *

Jesse and Mark blinked at Masamune kissing Chelsea, confused at the suddenness of it. Mark felt his grip slip off Jesse as she stood motionless.   
  
"Well..." he hummed, glancing away as he rubbed the back of his head, "that's...awesome...."  
  
Jesse's emotions slowly returned as she frowned at them, "fucking serious!" she snarled, waving her arms out at the two, "you're making out before fighting!?! What the fuck is wrong with the people in this time period!?!?"

* * *

Masamune slowly moved back, pulling a sigh from Chelsea's lips as she stared up at him with dream filled eyes. A smile spread across his lips as his thumb traced her cheek, "sounded like you wanted more," he whispered, his breath hot on her lips as he spoke.   
  
Chelsea slowly blinked back into herself, her eyes going wide as her face turned red. She tried to move away from him, only to be stopped by his arm around her waist, holding her against his body. She pushed against his chest, glaring at him through the embarrassment as he laughed.  
  
"You fucking whore!" James's voice stopped Chelsea's movements and protests, making Masamune's smile wilt as he gave the man a glare.   
  
Chelsea seemed to lose all fight, her arms becoming weak against Masamune's chest as she lowered her eyes and face.   
  
"I let you out of my sight for a night and you go and fuck a war lord?" James sounded appauled and disgusted, making Masamune frown. If anybody should be critisized, it was that man.   
  
Masamune leaned back slightly, putting his crooked finger under Chelsea's chin. He lifted her face up to look at him as he gave her a smile, "why do you let that cheating bastard get to you? If anybody's a whore, it's him," he said, making her blink a couple of times before she gave a small nod. He wasn't satisfied with her response but knew that it would have to do. He turned to face James, moving to stand in front of Chelsea as he pulled two blades from either side of his hip. He gave James's widened eyes a grin, "I'm going to enjoy cutting you down," he growled, rocking back on his heels as he readied himself to attack the man who enjoyed hurting others.   
  
Chelsea blinked out of her shamed stated and quickly grabbed Masamune's coat, stopping him just before he rushed forward. Masamune frowned and looked over his shoulder at the woman as she gave him pleading violet eyes, "don't kill him," she said, her voice breathy and desperate, "please, Masamune. He's my brother and the only family I have here."  
  
Masamune watched her for a moment as she stared at him with those big, deep violet eyes that seemed to draw him in. He let out a frustrated breath and gave a nod, "I won't kill him," he said, hearing her sigh in relief, "but I'm not going to let him walk away without a beating."  
  
Chelsea swallowed, releasing his coat as he rushed forward, his fist landing hard in the center of James's stomach, sending the man flying back into the stone wall. She felt herself start to panic and want to run to her brother, like she always did, but Jesse got to her before she could. Jesse grabbed Chelsea's wrist and pulled her back toward the line of men standing just inside the entrance.   
  
"Wait...Jesse..." she started to protest, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.  
  
"I don't need you running to that asshole and getting killed in the process," Jesse growled, as she pushed her way through the group of men.  
  
Chelsea looked back as Masamune and Hideyoshi met one another on the battlefield, sending out a shock wave of force that blew across them like a great wind. Chelsea cried out, covering her face as best she could as Jesse continued to pull her from the scene. 


	11. Horseback Confessions and The End of Hideyoshi

 

Kojuro raced the horse across the ground toward Osaka castle, making Max blink at the back of his head.  
  
"Where are we going?" she asked, looking toward the direction that Masamune and her friends had gone, "Kojuro, you're going the wrong way."  
  
He didn't say anything as he slowed the horse to a trot, "Chosokabe would want you to return to him," he said, making her frown slightly.  
  
"Chosokabe knows that I need to stay with my friends, for the time being," she said, leaning around to try to look at him, "he made the decision for me."  
  
Kojuro stopped the horse, turning in the saddle to look at Max with a serious expression, "your friends will be fine with Lord Masamune watching over them. You know that," he said, watching as her frown increase, "you can't watch over your friends forever. They will need to fend for themselves in this time."  
  
"Eventually," she said, narrowing her eyes at him, "but I want them to have the advantage I didn't."  
  
Kojuro watched the woman for a few moments before giving her a small smile, "they are lucky to have a friend like you, Max," he said, making her blink at him before he turned back to face the castle, "but you would be better off and happier with Chosokabe."  
  
She took a deep breath and sighed, "be that as it may, Kojuro, I want to be with my friends."  
  
"More than you want to be with the man you love?" he asked, stunning her into silence.   
  
She started to open her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it as she lowered her eyes to the symbol on the back of his coat. She wanted nothing more than to be with Chosokabe, but her friends needed her. Jesse could handle herself, and Mark proved that he could handle being in a world of war and simpleness, but it was Chelsea that she worried about most. Chelsea had little to no backbone, when it came to sticking up for herself. Especially when it came to her brother. Max took another deep breath and nodded, "fine," she mumbled, seeming to signal Kojuro to nudge the horse to move forward, "I'm sure if I told Cho about how I felt, we'd just follow you anyway."  
  
Kojuro chuckled as the horse picked up speed, "I wouldn't expect anything less from the Fallen Star."  
  
They galloped through the castle gates, coming to a stop amongst cheering men and cries of victory. The air was really contagious, pulling a smile across Max's lips. A couple of the men noticed her as she slid from the back of Kojuro's horse, calling out to her as they did.  
  
"FALLEN STAR! LADY MAX!" several of them called, waving to her as she rolled her eyes.   
  
More men took notice, calling to get more mens' attention. It wasn't long before she had the attention of the entire group, making her sigh before a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind, making her yelp in surprise as she was lifted from the ground. She glared down at the muscled limbs as she gave them a push.  
  
"Cho! Let go!" she growled, knowing exactly who it was.  
  
A deep chuckle confirmed it as she was lowered to the ground. She turned, giving the tall man a smack on the chest, making the men around them chuckle. Chosokabe glanced around the area, his grin wilting as he turned his attention back to her, "you decided to leave your friends?" he asked, watching her with that eye the color of a clear sky.   
  
Max shook her head, nodding toward Kojuro as he sat atop his horse, "Kojuro thought I should come here," she said, glancing around the area, "I don't know why when I, obviously, missed the party."  
  
Chosokabe smile as the men around them gave a great cheer, "so, you think your friends will be alright without you?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.   
  
She took a deep breath and shook her head, "Jesse can handle anything, as long as she can hurt it. Mark proved he can handle this time without a problem," she frowned, furrowing her brow as she looked at the dirt, "Chelsea's the one I'm worried about. Especially if James is helping Hideyoshi. She doesn't have a back bone when it comes to her brother."  
  
Chosokabe watched Max for a moment before giving a short nod, whistling at a couple of men off to the side, "bring me a horse," he called, making Max blink up at him.  
  
"Why?" she asked, watching as one of the men lead a horse to Chosokabe.  
  
"We're going to go help your friend, Chelsea," he said, mounting the horse in one swift motion. The way the moonlight shown from behind him as he sat upon the horse made him seem surreal and mystical. Her heart hammered in her chest as he gave her that enchanting smile as held his hand out for her, "come on, Maxine. Let's ride." She swallowed, blinking to snap herself out of it as she reached up and took his hand, letting him lift her onto the horse in front of him. She felt her face get hot as he looked out over the group of men, "alright you sons a bitches! Get your asses back to Shikoku before you cause anymore trouble." Several of the men laughed, shoving one another playfully as Chosokabe looked at Kojuro, "lead the way, Right eye," he said, getting a smile from the man before they set out.   
  
Max smiled at the feeling of Chosokabe's strong arms around her waist, holding her on the horse as it took off at a gallop, following Kojuro's horse. She took a deep breath, leaning back against Chosokabe's bare chest as she watched ahead, hoping that nothing happened to her friends.  
  
 _ **Would you like me to check for you, Spark?**_ Kasai's deep voice moved through her mind like a warm breeze, making her nod.  
  
"Yes, please," she said, getting a glance from Chosokabe before a fireball shot from the hilt of her sword and rushed ahead of them.   
  
Chosokabe chuckled as he shook his head, bringing Max's eyes around to look up at him, "I keep forgetting that you're swords are possessed," he said, his brilliant blue eye gentle as she looked at him.   
  
She smiled back, turning herself enough to be able to actually look up at him, "sometimes, I do too," she said, as he placed his hand against her cheek. She turned her face against his hand, placing her hand over his as he put his forehead against her's.  
  
"I missed you so much," his voice was soft and breathy, making her smile widen. His smile wilted as he looked her in the eye and swallowed, "I know that I probably said some things that hurt you, before you went back to your time, and I just want you to know that, no matter when. No matter where. No matter what. I will love you forever, Maxine Star. Even if I had to wait a thousand years to confess it, I would wait because I love you," he paused, taking a breath as he leaned back slightly, "and I'm sorry. At first I didn't think that it was love and wanted to take advantage of the prophecy like everyone else, but...when you disappeared...I couldn't bare the thought of being without you," he frowned, his forehead wrinkling as if he was in pain as he took her hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart, "it hurt more than anything I had suffered through in my entire life. I didn't know I could hurt so much without being in a battle," he paused again, his grip on her hand tightening slightly, "and the thought of losing you again..." he shook his head, "I don't think I could survive it."  
  
Max gave him a gentle smile, her heart warmed by his confession to her, as he put her hand against his cheek, bringing his eye up to her, "Kori told me you didn't love me," she said, getting a stunned look from Chosokabe before he narrowed his eye, "when you handed him to me and I asked if you loved me. Kori, apparently, has the ability to tell if someone is lieing. So, I knew, then, that you didn't love me and, honestly, it hurt," she looked down at his chest, "I loved you then and you didn't love me so it felt like someone stabbed me in the chest and twisted it. Kasai tried to tell me to give it time and, he was right," she gave a small chuckle, "about four hundred years seemed to be enough time..." she paused, looking up at him with a smile, "so, Chosokabe Motochika. Orge of the Western Sea. Pirate Warlord of the Island of Shikoku. I love you too."  
It took a second before the grin spread across Chosokabe's face, making his eye sparkle with joy as they leaned toward one another, meeting halfway in a sweet, gentle kiss that conveyed everything they meant to one another. He held her on the saddle and against his body while her hands rested on his chest, letting her feel his rapid heartbeat before they slowly pulled away from one another, putting their foreheads together.   
  
_I could spend the rest of my life with this woman,_ Chosokabe thought as he looked into her emerald eyes. Lost in the green gems that sparkled with joy.   
  
"We're almost there," Kojuro called back, snapping them out of their love struck state.   
  
Chosokabe blushed slightly, looking up at the back of Kojuro before sighing, wishing that they could have stayed like that forever. Max gave a sad sigh, obviously, wishing the same thing, before turning to look ahead of them at the castle. A loud explosion shook the ground under them, causing them to slow to a stop as smoke billowed up and out of the walls. Max's eyes widened for a moment before Chosokabe clicked his tongue, "guess he started the party without us," he said, chuckling to himself as they started moving forward.

* * *

Another gust of wind rushed at them, knocking both women off their feet. Chelsea groaned as she tried to get to her feet, being knocked back down by another gust of poweful wind. She cried out, covering her head as someone called out to her, but she couldn't hear anything over the sound of the rushing wind and her rapidly beating heart. The ground shook as she rolled over, her eyes widening at the giant man, Hideyoshi, rushing toward her with his fist raised. He hollered as he started to bring his fist down, making her scream and cover her face with her arms, like that would ward him off. She squeezed her eyes shut, mentally praying that he would miss.   
  
"Chelsea!" she heard Jesse scream before being lifted from the ground and held against something solid and warm.   
  
A loud crashing sound made her jolt, her body automatically thinking that she had been hit before a chuckle slowly opened her eyes. She blinked up at Masamune as he smiled down at her. He held her close to his chest, having grabbed her before Hideyoshi's attack had landed. He slowly lowered her to her feet, being careful not to cut her with the three blades between his fingers.   
  
"Are you alright, Kitten?" he asked, his smoothe voice soft as he turned his attention up to Hideyoshi, who was scowling at the two. Chelsea's body shook as she swallowed, trying to keep from screaming the terror she was feeling. Masamune looked at her out of the corner of his eye, tilting his head slightly to look more at her, "hey," he said, making her blink and looked up at him, "you shouldn't stay here if you want to live."  
  
Chelsea took several deep breaths before lowering her eyes, "I..." she started before a blast of flame landed a few feet from her. She gasped, jumping back to clutch as Masamune's sleeve as she stared at the man standing in the flames.   
  
He stood straight, rolling his head around his shoulders before looking toward Hideyoshi. His golden eyes narrowing before he looked at Chelsea and Masamune. Masamune blinked a couple of times before glancing at Chelsea, "you should go with him. Max must have sent him to make sure you and your friend are safe," he said, getting a nervous head shake from Chelsea, making him sigh, "I can't fight and keep you safe," he turned to face her fully, using his arm to push her toward the Yokai, "you'll be safer with him."  
Chelsea gave a squeak of fear at the sight of Kasai. His wild red hair flared out as hot air shifted around him. His golden eyes seemed to glow as he watched her shake in front of him. The scar on his cheek seemed to look more wicked in the darkness, making him look like a villian. Kasai sighed and gave Chelsea a gentle smile, holding out his hand toward her.  
  
"Come, Chelsea," he said, his deep voice vibrating in her chest as she felt heat radiating from him, seeming to soothe her, "Max wants me to protect you," he gave Masamune a smirk, "sorry, Date."  
  
Masamune smirked back, "don't worry about it, just make sure they're safe and far away from the battle."  
  
Kasai gave a nod as Chelsea gently set her hand in his, feeling a comforting warmth spread from where they touched and through her body. He lead her from the battle as Masamune rushed forward, meeting Hideyoshi, head on, on the battlefield. Jesse frowned at the two as they moved toward her, folding her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at them.  
  
"You really fucking think that we're going to just follow your lead to because you say that Max sent you?" she growled, moving one of her feet back to prepare to fight.  
  
Kasai gave her a raised eyebrow before gently placing his hand on Chelsea's back, moving her past Jesse and into the group of men.  
  
Jesse blinked after him before giving a heavy sigh and moving after them, "hey, wait up!"

* * *

A streak of blue shot into the air before decending quickly toward the ground, sending out a wave of power that blew the dirt and dust into their eyes. Max covered her eyes with her arm, gasping as Chosokabe put his arms around her, narrowing his eye at the wind. Max rubbed the dirt out of her eyes before looking up, her eyes widening at Kasai standing with his arms around Chelsea and Jesse, protecting them from the majority of the powerful wind coming from behind them. Kasai slowly stood straight, keeping his arms around the two as he glanced over his shoulder at the fight behind. The horses came to a stop several feet away as Max slid from the saddle and jogged to her friends.  
"Chelsea. Jesse," Max called, bringing their attention around to face her.  
  
"Max!" Chelsea called, her eyes tearing up before she rushed toward her friend, sobbing as she threw her arms around Max's neck, hugging her, "I was...so...s...scared."  
  
Max sighed and hugged her friend back, gently stroking Chelsea's hair as Jesse and Kasai came to them, "thank you, Kasai," she said, getting a smile from the Yokai before he slapped Jesse on the back, jolting the smaller woman forward.   
  
"This one tried to fight me off when I was trying to help," he said, giving Jesse a grin as she glared at him.  
  
"We were fine," she growled, turning to face Max, "Masamune is trying to take out that Hide-whatever guy," she chuckled, "he already beat James's ass."   
  
Chosokabe snorted, "looks like we almost missed the party," he said, stepping up behind Max.   
  
Max gave a nod as she gently moved Chelsea back from her, "Chelsea, I need to get to Masamune and see how he's doing," she said, getting a sniffle and a nod from the other woman as she turned Chelsea toward Kasai, "watch her for me, would you?"  
  
"Of course, Spark," he said, gently putting his hands on Chelsea's shoulders to lead her away.   
  
She started forward with Chosokabe, Kojuro and Jesse at her back, her swords feeling heavy on her back, but she was comforted knowing that she had them. First thing was first, make sure Masamune was alright and that Hideyoshi was stopped. She was starting to think that this whole, saving the day thing, was going to become a part of her daily life here.   
  
"What's your plan, Lady Max?" Kojuro asked, glancing at her as they made their way through the parting crowd.  
  
"Don't let Masamune die," she said, sounding matter of fact.  
  
Chosokabe chuckled, "sounds good to me," he said, smirking as they stopped just in front of the crowd of men.   
  
Max's eyes widened at the scene. Masamune and Hideyoshi were facing one another. Masamune's arms were up, his hands wrapped around Kojuro's sword as Hideyoshi was leaning forward, breathing heavily. They both started to yell as they rushed at one another, colliding halfway between one another. Blue lightening and red sparks meeting to create a massive explosion that blew everything out and away, around them. Max covered her eyes, turning away as Chosokabe took her arm, as if ready to pull her away at any moment. The wind died down, leaving an, almost, deafening silence behind. Max lowered her arms, looking out at the giant of a man laying at Masamune's feet. She was...shocked. She had no idea Masamune had such skill and power, it almost made her fear him. Masamune stood over the man for a few moments before starting to move.

* * *

Chelsea moved through the crowd, ignoring Jesse and Kasai's portests as they followed. She wanted to see what happened and if Masamune was alright. He did save her life, after all. She reached the edge of the group of men in time to see Masamune stumble and fall to one knee, fighting staying up. She gasped, her body moving on it's own across the debris filled ground to kneel beside Masamune. His breathing was slow but labored, like he was trying not to seem as hurt as he actually was. She frowned at him, putting his arm around her shoulder making him open his eye and glance at her.  
  
"I thought I told you not to stay here," he said, his voice strained dispite the confident smirk.  
  
Chelsea clicked her tongue at him as she helped him to his feet, "you saved my life. The least I could do is make you look like you got the girl," she said, getting a chuckle from the injured man.  
  
"You women from the future, sure are strange," he said, his head starting to fall forward as he closed his eye against the pain.  
  
"Don't talk so much," She said, giving him a smile, "you need your energy to look cool."  
  
He smiled at that, looking at the blonde woman through his slit eye as she helped him walk across the ground, toward the group of cheering men.   
  
"We knew you could do it, Boss!" a few of them cheered, making him smile at them.  
  
Chelsea helped him to one of the horses with Kojuro falling into step behind. He barely glanced over at his second, knowing that Kojuro was worried by the wrinkle across his forehead.   
  
"I wish you wouldn't fight people like that on your own," Max's voice grumbled from somewhere behind him, making him smirk.  
  
"And let your lover take the credit and look cool?" Masamune said, grinning over his shoulder as best he could, "I don't think so."  
  
Max clicked her tongue, "you wouldn't get hurt if you people worked together every once in a while."  
  
"Max, please," Chelsea said, her soft voice making his heart throb, "banter with Masamune when he's better. Right now, he needs rest and help."  
  
Max sighed and gave her friend a nod, "yeah, alright," she said, nodding toward Masamune as she looked at Kasai, "help the old guy out, would ya?"  
  
Masamune clicked his tongue, "old guy?" he grumbled a second before he was lifted from the ground and set on a horse. He blinked for a second before Kojuro climbed on in front of him, taking the reins in his hands.   
  
Chelsea made sure Masamune was fully on the horse before turning and looking at Max, "I'm going to go with them to make sure Masamune gets better," she said, making Max blink.  
  
"You're going with them?" Jesse asked, looking as shocked as Max.  
  
Chelsea nodded, climbing onto the back of a horse.  
  
Max and Jesse glanced at one another before Jesse sighed and Max gave a nod, "just make sure you write us, okay?" Max said, patting her friend's leg.  
  
"Yeah," Jesse agreed, "and I want fucking details. None of that, 'I'm doing fine' vague bull shit."  
  
Chelsea gave her friends a smile as the horse she was on followed Kojuro and Masamune.  
  
"Take care of her, Ko!" Max called, getting a wave from the man.  
  
Chosokabe stepped up beside Max, glancing down at her for a second and taking note of the worry on her face. _She really cares about her friends_ , he thought, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. "She'll be fine," he reassured her, giving her a small smile as she nodded.  
  
"Chelsea is usually the least fine out of us," she said, watching her friend ride off with the Date clan.   
  
Jesse sniffled, biting her lip as Mark leaned forward to look at her.  
  
"Are you crying?" he asked, getting a snort and a glare from the tough girl.  
  
"No," she said, her voice betraying her words as she rubbed her eyes, "my fucking allergies are acting up."  
  
Mark gave his sister a gentle smile before pulling her into his arms and hugging her, "don't worry, sis. Chelsea will be alright," he reassured her, rubbing comforting circles on her back, "she's gotten tougher thanks to you and Max."  
  
Max nodded, slipping her arm around Chosokabe, "I hope you're right, Mark."  
  
Chosokabe chuckled, putting a kiss on the side of her head, "he is," he said, moving toward his horse, "we should head back to Shikoku."  
  
Max nodded, glancing at her other friends, "you guys coming, or what?" she asked, getting nods from Jesse and Mark. 


	12. Sanada Yukimura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WAIT! What happened to Emma?!?

 

Emma frowned at the kitsune as he stood atop a large tree, searching the area. She snorted, turning and giving the ground a kick. "Stupid spirit fox," she grumbled, blinking toward the sound of approaching horses. She felt her heart skip a beat, wondering if she should go greet them and ask for help, or stay back and wait for Kori to come down from the tree. She looked up the tree at the fox before letting out a frustrated huff. _Men_ , she thought angrily as she marched into the center of the road. The horses drew closer as she raised her arms and waved them back and forth to get their attention. The men brought their horses to a stop in front of her, blinking at her in confusion as she gave them a pleading smile.  
  
"Hi, I'm Emma Janse and I think we're lost," she started, getting a slightl head tilt from the man on the lead horse, "could you tell me where we are? I'm trying to find my friends."  
  
The man on the lead horse looked at her with warm brown eyes, his wild brown hair sticking up around the cloth wrapped around his head. His chest and stomach was exposed through his red, long sleeved vest, "you're looking for your friends, you said?" he asked, his voice gentle as he glanced toward the tree Kori was standing in.   
  
"We don't need help," Kori's voice made Emma jump before she shot him a glare.  
  
"Why do men never ask for directions?" she growled, folding her arms over her chest, "and we do need help. You got us lost."  
  
Kori snorted, his tail flicking behind him in agitation, "we are not lost."  
  
Emma clicked her tongue, "the hell we aren't," she growled, looking up at the leader of the group, "my...companion is an idiot and got us lost."  
  
Kori growled at her, flashing his sharp white teeth, but she ignored him, keeping her eyes on the man upon the horse.  
  
"Who are you looking for?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.  
  
She smiled, "I'm looking for Maxine Star. She was the one that brought me here..." she frowned, "well, her ex boyfriend brought me here. I wanted to stay home."  
  
The man's eyes widened as he hopped down from the horse and came to her, "Max is here? Where is she?" he asked, taking hold of her shoulders as staring into her eyes with desperation, "please tell me."  
  
Emma's eyes widened for a moment before she frowned and narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't know, that's why I'm asking you," she said, getting a sigh from the man as he released her.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his head before looking at her, "you're, Emma?"  
  
She nodded, feeling a little anxious. If he knows about me, then Max must have told them about... she wiped the thought from her head, "I...was Max's friend," she said, looking down at the sharp pain of regret gripping her heart.  
  
He blinked at her a few times before nodding, "I'm Yukimura Sanada, the Young Cub of the Takeda Clan," he said, giving her a smile, "I don't know where Max is, but I can help you find her."  
  
Emma brightened at that, giving him a smile, "really?" she asked, taking an excited step forward.  
  
Yukimura nodded, "sure. I could have Sasuke look for her," he said, getting a sigh from one of the trees nearby.  
  
Sasuke jumped from the tree, putting his hands behind his head as he leaned slightly, "last time I saw Max, she was with Chosokabe and Masamune, so she's probably with them," he said, looking at Emma, "my guess, she's probably heading to Shikoku with Chosokabe."  
  
Emma sighed, "and, where is that?" she asked, tilting her head and feeling tired.  
  
Sasuke gave her a smile, "it's really not that far from here, but, I don't know how she'll take seeing you. She was a little...upset, knowing that you and...um...James had come through the time warp with them."  
  
Emma gave a heavy, sad sigh and lowered her eyes once again, "I keep trying to apologize for it, but she doesn't listen," she said, wrapping her arms around herself.  
  
"Hey, why don't you come back to Kai with me and Lord Shingen will try to talk to Max for you," Yukimura said, giving her an encouraging smile, "I'm sure that, if you prove yourself to Lord Shingen, he'll convince Max of your change in heart."  
  
Emma snorted, "Max is a stubborn bitch with a vendetta against me, even though I don't really remember sleeping with James, she'll still hate me."  
  
Kori's ears perked at that, "what do you mean, you don't remember?" he asked, suddenly appearing beside her and making her jump and yelp.  
  
She took a few deep breaths, to calm her rapidly beating heart, "I don't remember much. Just," she put her hand to her head, "bits and pieces."  
  
Kori frowned, folding his arms over his chest as he narrowed his eyes at her. He stared at her for a few moments before giving a nod, "if you're going with Sanada and Sarutobi, then I can get back to Max faster," he said, turning to walk away.  
  
Emma reached out, grabbing the back of his kimono and stopping him in his tracks, "wait! So you could have gotten us back any time?" she shrieked as she glared at him.  
  
He snorted, "no. But I can get back myself by turning into a flame and letting myself be taken back to the sword I possess," he said, looking at her like she was something gross on the bottom of his shoe, "I can't do that if I have to babysit."  
  
Emma clicked her tongue, releasing his kimono in a huff as she roughly, folded her arms over her chest, "fucking jerk."  
  
Kori flashed into a flame that shot into the air and disappeared over the trees, making Emma give a frustrated hiss through her teeth.   
  
Yukimura got back on his horse and steered it to standing beside her, making her blink up at him as he offered his hand, "come on, Emma. Let's find Max," he said with a gentle smile.  
  
She swallowed, feeling a little put off by how nice he was being before taking his hand a letting him pull her up and onto the horse in front of him. She smiled at him as he got the horse moving, "thank you, Yukimura."  
  
He smiled back, "it's alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this story was super short and could have probably used a few more chapters, but there was a lot of chaos here. So much even I started to get confused and I wrote the damned thing.   
> That being said, there will be another story! One where they've been in the Sengoku Period for a while and are getting use to everything there. There will be more romance, fighting, sex and building of bonds...not necessarily in that order.   
> Just saying, what do you think Max and Chosokabe did when the finally got a little alone time? 
> 
> The next one, I'm thinking, is going to take place BEFORE Ieyasu starts gathering people for that alliance thing. Need to give the OCs some time to adjust, don't I?
> 
> WHO WANTS A SPOILER!?!?! If not, stop reading right NOW!
> 
>  
> 
> Chelsea/Masamune -can she tame this wild warlord? Can he help her be more confident?  
> Emma/Yukimura - can he help her forgive herself? Can she help him mature?  
> Jesse/Sasuke - will she ever stop beating him up? Will he ever stop scaring the crap our of her?
> 
> I was, originally, going to have Jesse and Yukimura end up together, but, with the way the story turned out, I didn't know how to swing that, and Emma was supposed to end up with Kojuro, but again, didn't know how I was going to swing it and Sasuke would have been left out of the loop. That makes a sad Sasuke and a sad me, so, there's your hints and spoilers, you naughty readers.


End file.
